Last winter, when senior Alex Hiller turned 18 years old, she got a tattoo on her right calf. The tattoo consists of the phrase “I’m third” with a cross in between the words, which means in her life, she places Jesus first, others second and herself last.

Hiller, who is Christian, said, “I’ve always wanted a tattoo, and I found out that my parents were giving me that as a gift about a month before (my birthday). I had a quick turnaround to figure out what I wanted to get. I knew that my faith and my religion weren’t going to change, so I based it off of that.”

An April 2014 Washington Times article stated religious images have remained an enduring part of the tattoo business. Religious tattoos have retained their popularity at CHS among a handful of students as well. While regulations differ in other states, in Indiana, there is no age restriction to get a tattoo, but minors must have permission from their parents who must also be present during the procedure.

Hiller said she thinks tattoos are great, but people should consider the consequences before deciding on getting a tattoo.

“I feel like if you’re going to spend the time and effort and money on it, then it should mean something to you,” she said.“I didn’t want to spend my money and my parents’ money on stuff that just looked nice. I wanted to get something that was a big part of my life. (My tattoo) is the motto for the camp I went to for eight years. I knew it was going to be something that was consistent and meaningful to me.”

CRU sponsor Kim TenBrink said while getting a tattoo is one way for a person to express their faith, it is not the most crucial way.

“For me, it’s more about the way you live,” TenBrink said. “Just because somebody wears a cross doesn’t mean they’re Christian. Just because somebody has a shirt on that has a Buddha on it doesn’t mean they’re Buddhist. Living your faith out is the most important thing.”

Nonetheless, a stigma still exists with religious tattoos and tattoos in general. Hiller said she thinks this attitude is born from tradition but will gradually lessen moving forward.

Adam French, tattoo artist for Carmel Tattoo INK, said he thinks people these days are much more open in general, and this mindset allows tattoos to become much more common in society. He says his business, on average, completes one religious tattoo per day.

French said, “People are just more accepting. People in early days associated anyone with a tattoo with either being in jail or in the military, not that those two were affiliated in any way. I think that was the stigma. But today, you see doctors, pastors, lawyers, people from all walks of life getting tattoos.”

In fact, French said he recently gave a priest a tattoo of a cross with a Celtic knot pattern on the inside.

However, despite their increasing popularity, Hiller said tattoos are still associated with many risks.

“As always, you have to be careful with it and you have to be smart about it. But if you’re not you can get any sort of (disease), like AIDS and HIV, if the equipment isn’t sterilized and done correctly. If you gain a bunch of weight or lose a bunch of weight, (the tattoo) can become deformed,” Hiller said. “It’s a completely open wound when you get it and you have to bandage it. If you don’t take care of it, it can get infected, it can become very painful. A lot of these things happen if you just aren’t smart about it.”

No one else in Hiller’s family has a tattoo, so she received mixed feelings of approval and disapproval after getting her tattoo. Because of not everyone likes tattoos, they can often impact job opportunities.

Hiller said, “There’s some jobs that are good jobs and you can get paid well and work in a good environment that’s very accepting and okay with it, but then there’s (other) jobs. A friend of mine worked at Jimmy John’s. He can’t work there anymore because his tattoos can’t be covered up with a T-shirt. There’s plenty of other places that are OK with (tattoos), it’s just having to find those.”

Regardless of the existing stereotypes and possible consequences, TenBrink said she thinks tattoos can actually have a positive effect on a majority of people.

Hiller said she thinks tattoos are great conduits for people to voice their beliefs.

“I think they’re great, honestly. If you’re comfortable in yourself and whatever you want to get tattooed on you, then I think it’s a great thing,” Hiller said. “Some people express themselves through words, through songs. Other people, like me, do it through art on their body, and I think it’s a great way to express yourself. If somebody is confident and comfortable with what they want to get on themselves, then it’s a great thing to do, no matter what age, as long as you think it through.”