Years ago, people with tattoos were discriminated in society. It was almost impossible for them to be employed, and they were often looked down upon. Now, everything has changed. People are now starting to notice the artistic meaning and originality of tattoos. Reasons behind people’s tattoos vary. People with tattoos are very capable of having a career, and people with tattoos are not looked down upon as often.

Looking at everything in your life, decide for yourself what has lasting, significant meaning. Find a way to incorporate that into a great tattoo. There is no formula for figuring out what to get for a meaningful tattoo. What has meaning for one person is meaningless to someone else. Find what has meaning for you and then go for it!

People love to get ink that is representative of their loved ones. Parents like to get tattoos that have symbolism that is significant to the individual child. They are beautiful ways of demonstrating that you’re a proud parent via ink. My dad has my and my sister's names tattooed on his right arm. The flowers around it are our favorite colors.

Many choose get a meaningful tattoo based on an actual experience — a job, a vacation, a first love — that was somehow impact to them. There’s no limit to what constitutes a meaningful experience or encounter, so meaningful tattoos are inherently quite varied and distinct in their nature. My ankle tattoo (pictured below) is the autism puzzle piece with the ASL Hand Sign for "I Love You". This tattoo represents the love I have for my friends with special needs and my passion to become a special educator!

Demi Lovato is infamous for her plethora of meaningful tattoos. She revealed her Roman numeral tattoo in a TV interview saying, “I just recently got this little guy... It’s the Roman numeral three. It means a lot to me because my Dad, it was like his number. He was obsessed with Dale Earnhardt and he passed away, so I wanted to do something positive.” Having someone draw an image or write words to be permanently inked on is a unique way of creating imagery for very personal, meaningful tattoos. Marisa F. and Karleigh P. tell me about their matching tattoos that Demi Lovato wrote for them. Marisa said, "I struggle with anxiety, and I needed a constant reminder in my body that i will be OK. Freedom is my ultimate goal, and since Demi wrote it, it is very personal. She has impacted my life so much so having her handwriting on me as a reminder is very special!"

Tattoos are very popular among people that struggle with mental illness. I have a tattoo on my left wrist that says "Stay Strong" as a reminder to be strong in moments where I feel I cannot go on. More and more people are joining this movement of meaningful tattoos. This is because tattoos are permanent. For many, that permanent, constant reminder is very helpful. Nia G. says, "Struggling with self-harm, I have my warrior tattoo as a reminder on my wrist. If I ever feel the urge, I just look down at the spot and think, 'Wow, I'm a warrior.' I got this as a present to myself for being a year clean of self-harm." Tattoos like this are very powerful and super meaningful to the people that have them. For people that struggle with mental illness, having a meaningful tattoo gives them a voice for an otherwise taboo topic.

"Getting "love yourself first" was an impulsive tattoo for me. I had been self harming for years. The first time that I ever self harmed was when I was 12, and it was exactly where I got my tattoo...I figured the perfect place on my body to get the tattoo would be where this whole thing started, and make sure that's where it ended. Forever. When I got the tattoo it was a promise to myself that when I had really bad urges I would look at the tattoo as a reminder to love myself first. I look at it multiple times a day still. It shows me where I've been and sculpts me into who I want to become in a positive light. I absolutely love it." - Anonymous.