Through the eyes of our society, tattoos are a somewhat negative thing to have. When people see others that have tattoos they often immediately start judging or degrading them. When in reality, tattoos do not define a person’s character what so ever. We have been taught our entire lives to not judge others based off their appearance, yet we are constantly doing it.

One of the most common comments I hear when it comes to tattoos is that they make someone trashy or simply of lesser value. In my eyes, judging someone based off their exterior says way more about your character than the other person for having ink. Have you ever thought that maybe the tattoos are not the problem but more so that the ones judging the tattoos are? Remember how we were raised to "not judge a book by its cover”? Living your whole life judging the contents of someone based off their appearance is only going to leave you missing out on some awesome people.

Another thing that people always say when putting tattoos down is, “You are supposed to treat your body like a temple”. Yes, you are very much right. Treating your body well is very important, but I don’t understand why it is so wrong to basically decorate the walls of your “temple”. If anything tattoos exhibit how proud you are of your body and how much you appreciate it. Tattoos are beautiful works of art, all unique and amazing in their own way, covering your body with them is literally you filling your skin with art. Which that thought alone is beautiful. Maybe treating your body like a temple doesn’t have to be on a physical aspect, but maybe an emotional perspective as well. Learning to be comfortable in your own skin and loving the art that fills your canvas is treating your body well in my eyes.

“They are going to regret that.” Possibly one of the most offensive comments in the history of all tattoo related comments. The thing is with tattoos is they are permanent. Everyone who gets a tattoo already knows this. Don’t remind them of this because believe it or not they do already know. Someone could be getting a tattoo for a million different sentimental reasons or simply because they just like it. So what if they regret it later on. Sounds pretty crucial since they are permanent, but if the worst thing they ever regret in their life is a tattoo, then they are doing pretty great. Don't say anything rude about them. Simple as that.

Most people who get tattoos are extremely passionate about them. I think they are absolutely amazing because in my eyes if a person is tattooed from their toes to their nose, that meant that they literally planned out every inch of their body. See, I only have one but I have already planned most of myself out because the addiction is so real and let’s face it, life is way too short to not do whats going to make us happy. They are beautiful to me, regardless of what others think. I believe that if tattoos make someone happy then people shouldn’t try so hard to ruin that. I mean how would you feel if people constantly judged you for the things that you love? Tattoos are so amazing because they can start conversations or tell a story or be something to live by. My favorite thing about them is probably the scariest part, that they are so permanent. No matter what, they will always be there aging along with you. It’s emotion and art that you wear on your sleeves for the world to see. It’s literal meaning.

Before judging someone that has a lot of ink or even very little, think about how you would feel if someone judged a characteristic of yours. Think about what good you are actually doing by degrading something they love. Tattoos take a lot of thought and commitment so if anything they say so many positive things about someone, that is if we are still judging the book by its cover. There is so many other things to dislike and worry about in the world, things that actually do have a negative effect on our lives. Instead of putting down someone’s ink maybe take the time to reconsider.