Nowadays, it’s pretty difficult to go anywhere and not see someone with some sort of ink on their body. It’s also pretty common to see some brightly colored hair, with or without the tattoos. I am both of those people. Three tattoos down and constantly changing hair color — it’s no wonder I consistently shock my grandmother. Now, to be honest, I don’t do it to disappoint her, despite whatever she might think. (I love you Grammy!) I do it as a way of expressing myself, like so many other people do.

My second tattoo was to represent how much the "Harry Potter"series means to me. That series was the first big series that I started reading as a kid and it was what made my passion for reading truly explode. I still remember reading behind my desk instead of paying attention in the fifth grade. (Sorry Miss Savitski!) Because of "Harry Potter,"I was able to develop my creativity and imagination, experience a completely different world, and develop my passion for the written word and all that it can do. So now when someone asks if I still enjoy "Harry Potter," I can point to my tattoo and reply, “Always.”

"The Hobbit." Now this tattoo is the most prominent one I currently have, and it’s the one my mother and grandmother hate the most. So why do I have a semi-obscure "Hobbit"reference forever inked on my arm? Well, to put it simply, "The Hobbit" is a wonderful story and Bilbo is my favorite literary character. He proves that no matter who you are, you can surprise even yourself and you can be more than what everyone else may think you are. Additionally because Smaug is a dragon and dragons are rad as heck. They’re strong, brave and hard to beat. Plus, they breathe fire. Lastly, because the runes say “courage,” which combined with the other reasons make this tattoo especially significant to me. I got it during my freshman year of college — my first year away from home, taking and failing classes for a major I hated, and feeling really overwhelmed and depressed with everything that was happening at that point in my life. I got this tattoo (on my arm) so that I could look at it whenever I needed to and remind myself to have courage. To remind myself that there’s going to be riddles, Orcs and evil wizards along the way, but that I need to keep my head high and believe in myself. If Bilbo can go from preferring his tea and books to kicking butt and becoming “Spider Killer” and “Master Burglar,” then I can conquer my science homework. That research paper. That move halfway across country, the new job, anything that life can throw at me. I just have to be as courageous as Bilbo and as fierce as a dragon.

Now, each of my tattoos has a special meaning to me, just as other people may have tattoos that mean something special to them. Be considerate before judging someone on their ink. However, some people may have a tattoo just because they wanted one. This is also completely fine. It’s their body to do what they want with and tattoos have no effect on anyone other than themselves. They don't have to have a deep, meaningful reason for having that tattoo and your opinion of it isn’t going to change their mind about getting it, nor will it affect them going forward with that tattoo.

When you first see me, I know that all you’ll see is pink hair and tattoos. Don’t judge me based on my appearance alone because my appearance does not define me, by any means. It accentuates me and my personality. Get to know someone before judging them. You know their name and their face, not their story or their personality. Tattoos, colored hair, piercings and any other body modification for that matter, are the decisions of the person getting them done, not you. It affects that person only, not you. Don’t like it? Don’t do it. Simple. But make sure you take the time to get to know the other person before you decide you don’t like them based purely on the fact that they enjoy customizing themselves.