Chelsea McKensie
Dr. Jason Ellis
9/10/15
My name is Chelsea McKensie. My major is Hospitality Management. Hospitality management is the study of the hospitality industry meaning food and business, some of my interest are watching and drawing anime, watching UFC wrestling, Greco, freestyle wrestling, watching the food network and cooking. In addition to those interests, tattooing is an important part of my life. The word tattoo means a rhythmic tapping or drumming, it is an action. The word tattoo is said to have two major derivations from the Polynesian word “ta” which means striking something and the Tahitian word “tat au” which means, “to mark something”.
I love tattoos so much I think it is as if your body is a canvas and the ink is the paint. You put all the things that inspire you and the people you love and everything you find beautiful about the world on your skin for the world to see. Tattooing has been practiced across the globe for a very long time. The oldest discovery of tattooed human skin was found on the upper lip of a chin churo culture mummy from South America. Tattooing was created by inserting colored materials beneath the skin surface. Technology has improved and evolved so much since then tattoos are painful now imagine then. The first tattoo was probably created by accident. It probably started out as a cut and they trying to treat it and it left marks of there skin maybe even in a pattern.
The only people that still stereotype tattoos are middle aged to old people today. Tattoos are becoming more common and less looked down upon in today’s age unless your literally covered in them from head to toe. Now if your tattoos are offensive that may also be a different story, but if you have genuine tattoos that are part of you and mean something special theirs no reason to be stereotyped. Your supporting arguments make absolutely no sense! It drives me crazy! Every tattoo tells a story, belief, or holds a memory. What happened to “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”? I’m sure you all have been looked down upon at one point in your lives, so why would you feel the need to be so cruel as to return the favor? It’s truly disgusting!! I have PLENTY of tattoos, but you know what? I have done ten times better in school and at work than most of those who DON’T have tattoos. Tattoos are a way of expression, and a way to stand out in a crowd, to be a piece of art! I think the most beautiful people are the ones that have tattoos, not once in my life have I notice a person without tattoos, why? They blend in. I understand if someone gets something ridiculous, like a lawn mower, it’s truly beautiful, as is the person with it. Inside and out, unlike you negative people.
Tattoos have become a respectable art form and are no longer viewed by most and something disagreeable. Once upon a time only those who served in the military had them. Then civilians with questionable reputations got them–prisoners, gang members etc.–and now nearly everyone under the age of 50 has one. TV reality shows about tattoo artists abound and the art form has become more sophisticated. Even the older generations are beginning to come around and accept tattoos as a part of our culture. “When a tattoo artist makes marks on skin, he or she joins a conversation in progress. When you choose a tattoo, you reveal something about yourself that is already there, even if it’s only a hope.”
Some of the positive aspects of being tattooed can be expressed by many tattoo lovers. The rush of putting something decorative on their bodies is like no other feeling in the world. Knowing the mark of the needle is there forever is a beautiful commitment to many ink seekers. Picking a design and saying it is part of “you” is what drives some to commit to tattoo collecting. Sports teams, girlfriends names, children’s favorite play toys, favorite foods, brand names, flowers, and even frightening subjects are part of the tattooing design platform. A tattoo can mean a commitment between two friends to be friends forever. A tattoo can commemorate a death of a family member, friend, or even a pet. Many times while doing memorial tattoos, artists will see the tears of the living flow under the buzz of the needle. The tattoo gives closure and security in knowing the memorial is permanently a part of the grieving person’s body. “Wearing your heart on your sleeve” is actually what the memorial tattoo does for the client seeking to show their love, committment, or grief of losing a loved one. This is just one positive effect of getting tattooed. Another effect that can be positive is the ornamental decoration of one’s body. Many decorative designs can be seen on young people and even people in their eighties. One episode of Miami Ink showed an eighty year old lady getting her first tattoo. She was a perky eighty year old and wanted to have her initial on her upper arm. It was an honor for Ami to decorate her virgin skin at the age of eighty.
