"I'll wait on the other cashier. You don't look trustworthy with all those piercings and tattoos." Those words still ring in my head. I was working at JC Penney in my hometown during my senior year of high school. At the time, I had around 4 tattoos and probably a dozen piercings compared to the 7 tattoos and 21 piercings I have now. Typically, when I went to work I would try to be a little more modest and cover up my tattoos or wear my hair down to cover most of my piercings, but there was no rule set in place that I had to do so unless a tattoo or piece of jewelry was offensive. With that in mind, every now and then I would come into work with my tattoos and piercings visible. Most of the time I would get compliments on them or someone would ask how bad it hurt, but one day that wasn't the case.

I was working in the kid's department with another employee. It had been a pretty slow day, especially in our department. We had a small rush of customers come in around lunch time so both of us had to be on register. Another customer, and elderly woman in her late 60's or early 70's, walked up, took one look at me and proceeded to tell me that due to my tattoos and piercings, she wasn't going to let me ring her up. My blood was boiling. I completely understand that some people don't approve of body modifications, but I felt she had no right to tell me that she found me untrustworthy. I was about as trustworthy as the next person. I was working, in school, maintaining a high GPA, helping my family, and the list could go on. For some reason, tattoos and piercings have been associated with being a degenerate and that breaks my heart.

I shouldn't feel obligated to hide my body modifications because of the way society views them. It's not like I'm going out and getting a bunch of random, meaningless tattoos. Every drop of ink on my body tells another part of my story.

A relationship with my little sister.

My love for camping.

A symbol of my parents' marriage.

My battle with depression and anxiety.

Supporting a cause I feel strongly about.

A reminder from my Grandma-maw.

Not one drop of ink was just so I could have something "cool" on my body. I'm going to be able to look back one day when I'm this badass grandma with tattoos engulfing my skin and say that I lived. I'll have all the proof I need of my good life on my skin and I'll get to take that with me when I die. How cool is that?

Sure, maybe one day I'll take out all of my piercings, but for now I'm enjoying the beauty they bring into my life. My friends and family have all told me that they couldn't picture me without them because they have been such a huge part of me.

It has been about a 2 year stretch since I really started getting all of my tattoos and piercings and to this day, I don't regret a single one. I plan on getting more of both so I can continue not only expressing myself, but pushing for the acceptance that all of us with body modifications deserve. I hope that one day I can live in a world where I won't have to cover tattoos or hide piercings just so I can get a job like everyone else. Go out and get the tattoos you want. Get that piercing you've been thinking about. Express yourself. Cover the journal that is your body with whatever you please. Compliment someone on their body modifications. Society seems to be dragging all of us down so it's time to lift each other up.

I'd also like to give a little shout out to my tattoo artist in Richmond. Tim Million has done all of my tattoos, except for the one behind my ear(Dragon's Den on South 8th is a good shop too), and I've gotten most of my piercings in his shop as well. So if you want some good quality ink or piercings at a fair price, drop by House of Ink on Main Street. You won't regret it.