Hi there. My name is Autumn, I’m 20 years old, and I have 10 tattoos. A lot, I know. I hear that pretty often, but my tattoos are all part of me, and I love them each for different reasons. People often tell me that one day I am going to regret them, or “just imagine what you’ll look like when you’re old.” I’m going to look fabulous. Thank you very much for your input, but this is my body, and I will add as much art to it as I please.

I got my oldest tattoo a week after my 18th birthday. I had always wanted to be covered in tattoos, and I spent weeks before my birthday looking for the right artist to give me the design I'd been thinking of for years-- a cat and skull nestled in flowers. I found my artist, and for my birthday, my mother paid for me to get inked (thanks, Mom). I was super nervous and worried about the pain, but two and a half hours later, I was in love with my freshly tattooed thigh.

I had always heard that people with tattoos are stigmatized, that people with visible tattoos are treated differently, and often worse, than those with no permanent art. I never fully understood this until I had my own tattoos. Because of my first tattoo’s location, it could easily be covered up, especially in a professional setting, but I would still get stares at the beach sometimes. Many of those times, it was children admiring the kitty on my leg. Other times, it was someone scowling at the decision I had made to have art immortalized on my skin forever.

Then I got my second tattoo. My mom and I got tattoos together for Yule in 2015. It was a piece that I wanted for a while, and being able to get it with my mom was a really fun bonding experience. My third was a tattoo I got with my best friend. We’ve been friends since pre-school, so it was time to officially get the friendship commemorated on our skin. The fourth, fifth, and sixth were all spur of the moment pieces of art. A little tombstone on my ankle during finals week, a five-eyed cat and watercolor flowers on my diaphragm, and a witch scene on my stomach.

Later, my mom and I got new tattoos together again; I got her zodiac constellation and she got mine, marking my seventh and her fourth. Then I got my feet done while working with kids over the summer-- they loved seeing the new art, by the way. Kids are awesome like that. The tenth tattoo I have is the most personal to me. Not only did I give this tattoo to myself, but it also has the most symbolism. An equal sign on my ring finger, symbolizing my beliefs on marriage equality.

This is me. I love art. I love my tattoos, and the idea of getting my skin covered with art that will be there for the rest of my life. I have the next five tattoos that I want already planned out. Now it is just a waiting game-- waiting for the right artist, and waiting for my savings account to have enough money to spend on additional tattoos. If people around me don’t agree with the idea of me having tattoos, then I don’t need those people in my life. My body is a temple, and I will decorate it however I want.