I recently saw a post about a nurse who has rainbow colored hair, multiple ear piercings, tattoos, the whole nine yards. To sum up, in the post, she said that all of her of tattoos and piercings do not interfere with her work. Wow, who would have thought? Someone can still do their job with ink on their body? With different colored hair than what they were born with? With ear piercings?

As a teenager with a tattoo (but only on my upper back, so no one can see), an industrial ear piercing and as someone who used to have a nose ring, I feel like jobs should be less strict about rules pertaining to this. We're in the 21st century, and more and more people are getting tattoos, piercings, dying their hair, etc. I should not be discriminated against if I have a visible tattoo or piercing, and I should not lose a potential job because of it, either.

Some argue that it is unprofessional, and I can see where they are coming from, but times are changing and work places should keep updated with this. For example, a hospital in St. Louis updated its dress code, which allowed staff to have tattoos go uncovered, as long as they were not considered "offensive." What is considered "offensive" though? Where do you draw the line? And why can hospital staff show their tattoos, but I can’t in an entry level job?

Attitudes about body modifications in the workplace are changing somewhat, though. In a study done by KIIT University students in India, 89 percent of respondents said tattoos are not linked with deviant workplace behavior, and 87 percent of respondents also said no when asked if a piercing or tattoo can hurt the chance of getting a job.

Body modifications are a form of expression.

They are a form of art.

They are beautiful.

They are meaningful.

They are a story to tell.

They are who we are.

They do not take away from our skills.

They do not take away from our abilities.

They do not take away from our personalities.

I am still the same person, with or without my body modifications.