My grandmother has always been against marking your body, especially with tattoos, and that hatred has carried on with her daughters. They view tattoos as mistakes that you will carry with you forever. What if you hate them in a few years? What will you do when the style of your tattoo changes? The question they ask most of all is, what will you do when you are older and they look awful and you hate them?
I will admit, all of these questions are fair and have a right for concern, but I look at tattoos in a significantly different way. I view them as pieces of art that remind you of what you love, or have once loved. I see them as an expression of one's inner self. For the elderly, I view their tattoos as a reminder of their youth and a reminder of how far they have come.
Sure, there are people who have gotten tattoos that they regret, and that is understandable, but I think that the regret depends on the person. Some people are regretful people, and others just make impulsive decisions, but I don't think that all people who choose to get tattoos should be viewed in that way.
A lot of tattoos are meaningful for a lot of people. Some get tattoos that remind them of their deceased loved ones. Other's get tattoos that represent the meaning of their family or their heritage. Many people, however, get tattoos for the simple fact that they enjoy them. What is so wrong with
that?
I'll admit that it is scary to mark your body with something permanent, but I believe that it adds a level of comfort to some people. Life is not permanent. The majority of relationships in life are not permanent. Hell, even memories aren't guaranteed to be a permanent part of your mind. To people with tattoos, it is comforting to know that when you go to take a shower, it won't wash away. To people with tattoos, it is comforting to know that there is a part of you, and your personality, that no one can take away. To people who mark their bodies, tattoos are so much more than just 'permanent'.
Sure, overtime your art will fade, but that is just a sign of their age. Their fades are just a reminder of how long they have been down for the ride. For the elderly, the fade of their tattoos is a reminder of how far they have come and how much they have changed over the course of their life.
All in all, tattoos are a choice, and the best decision to some. No matter one's age, self-expression should never be toppled.
1. I wrote a post about this topic in particular because I wanted to Collaborate with Abby. I wanted to do a post about the elderly and tattoos to divert people from judging both tattoos, and the elderly who have tattoos. I also wanted to show people that just because you are old, it doe t mean you have to hate or regret what you once loved when you were young. 2. i only had difficulty with figuring out how to word what I wanted to say to get my message across. 3. The rhetorical purpose of this post is to make people think, as well as swaying their points of view. I just wanted people to be able to explore other possibilities.
ReplyDeleteYes! I am totally for tattoos, and it makes sense that people will change and may not always love their tattoos. But they reflect people at one time or another in their lives and I think that's so important.
ReplyDelete