On my 18th birthday I got my first tattoo. I had been wanting a tattoo since I was 14 and knew exactly what I wanted. I've grown up with both my parents having tattoos and it being something that everyone around me was accepting of. However, as I got older I was able to form my own opinions of them and figure out what I think they are and what purpose they serve in my book.

I know not everyone is accepting of them, some people don't like the idea of "damaging" your body and other people think that you're "destroying" what God created. I understand that and everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I think there is a line that needs to be drawn when it comes to criticizing someone whether they have tattoos or not.

I'm a firm believer that tattoos are a form of art that you can put on your body. I have 3 tattoos now and I haven't even hit my 19th birthday. I have designed each of my tattoos and although they still have meaning to me, I think they're art and I'm my own canvas. I know later down the road I will have tattoos that mean nothing more than the beauty they hold for me, but I don't think that each tattoo that someone gets has to hold a deep meaning. If someone wants to get a tattoo of a heart because they think it's cute I'm in full support because:

1. Who am I to tell someone not to do what they want?

2. It's not my body that's being altered.

3. It has absolutely zero affect on my life and does not change anything to me.

I'm a firm believer in tattoos because they can be a daily, permanent, and personal reminder of anything you want. I have my lucky number on the inside of my arm because of all the things in my life that relate to the number. My sister and I were both born on the 16th, my brother's whole birthday adds up to 16, I graduated high school in 2016 and my lacrosse number is 16. Later in life my lucky number could change, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to regret the tattoo or that it won't be a reminder of who I was at this point in my life.

I'm a firm believer in tattoos because it's a way to express who you are and what you enjoy through art on your body.