Tattoos and Teenagers

--Your MHS Librarian, Mrs. Meier

Mrs. Meier's blessing:
"May you live long enough to regret your tattoos."
Mrs. Meier's OTHER blessing:
"Wishing you 'best regrets'!"

None of us wants to think that we're "not old enough" for something:  This implies that we're not smart enough, but that's just not true.  To BE smart is to KNOW to NOT make decisions until you're ready.  

The truth of biology is that the teen brain is at the beginning of an amazing growth to maturity.  A senior is much more mature and ready for decisions than a freshman, and a twenty-year-old is ahead of a high school senior.  In fact, science believes that when you reach about 25 years old, your brain (prefrontal cortex) is usually ready for more serious and life-long decisions.  ("Are Teenage Brains Really Different from Adult Brains?") Be the wiser person, and wait for that full, filled-in wisdom.



 



I doubt that anyone denies that tattoos are a personal decisions--and they're permanent.  They're bumper stickers for your body; but bumper stickers go on cars; and when  you grow and change, cars come and go.  Your ONE body will be with you forever: The message you want on this "vehicle" when you're seventeen is NOT the message you want to display when you're 20, or 30, or 40, or 50.  

The  rock singer's logo that you advertise on your arm may rocks today, but it may be an embarrassment down the line (People really DID love Justin Bieber and New Kids on the Block!).  

AND...what if you're allergic to the ink?

Also, someday--when you have a great career--that skull or marijuana leaf on your arm may hold you back and make you miss promotions.  It might make your girlfriends parents convince her to not stay with you. 

And do you really want to  embarrass your grandchildren when they have to admit that "grandma has a tattoo." 













 Certainly, it is now possible to have tattoos removed.  It's costly. It's painful.  It leaves ugly, permanent scars.  This librarian has even seen a YouTube video in which an unstable fellow tried to remove an old girlfriend's name, HIM-SELF.  OUCH!!  Wise thinking tells us that "I'll just have them removed" is not a good fall-back.  One way, or another, tattoos make a permanent statement. 

A wise young person recognizes that his or her brain is working hard right now to build the best decision-making machine it can.  Give it a chance to finish that job before you cover yourself with permanent regrets. 



Everyone gets to have their own opinions, and this is mine.
Here are the ideas of others on the subject of tattoos:


 "Don't Get One, Stay Unique:  A Surprising Piece of Advice From Legendary Tattoo Artist Lyle Tuttle"  ("Tattoos are a fading fad...")

                               "'I was hotter than a pistol at one time,'" chuckles 84-year-old Lyle Tuttle."

 This article covers some very interesting history of tattoos.  Lyle was featured on the cover of The Rolling Stone Magazine, and he even tattooed Janice Joplin!  Don't let the title fool you:  It's an article for everyone.

"Who Owns Your Ink?  Tattoo Artists Turn to Lawsuits to Protect Intellectual Property" --ABC News, Australia

"Tattoo Prejudice in the Workplace"  -- AllBusiness

 "How to Avoid STUPID Tattoos" --YouTube Video