Angela Pender
Staff Writer
Being able to express yourself creatively and artistically is what some people aspire to do, and the way they do that is through the art of tattooing.
Tattooing has been around for over 12,000 years and the tattoo culture continues to grow and expand as there are many reasons why people choose to get tattoos.
The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian “tatu” which means to mark something, and according to powerverbs.com, “in recorded history, the earliest tattoos can be found in Egypt during the construction of the great pyramids (It undoubtedly started much earlier).
When the Egyptians expanded their empire, the art of tattooing spread as well.
The civilizations of Crete, Greece, Persia, and Arabia picked up and expanded the art form.
Around 2000 B.C. tattooing spread to China.” Getting tattoos use to mean an abundance of things including a sign of rebellion, but today they are known as works of art and markings of individuality .
It has been said that each tattoo has its own story.
People get tattoos to express emotions of something or someone that they love, to pay tribute to someone who passed, symbols or phrases that they feel passionate about and sometimes just because the graphics look really nice, but before getting a tattoo, you should also be fully aware of the risks of getting them.
Before you get a tattoo, you should make sure you are not sick because your body should be focusing on healing the tattoo, and if you’re sick, your tattoo may not heal as quickly.
Your skin is the largest organ and according to Mayo Clinic, “a tattoo ‘breaches the skin’ which opens the door for various complications such as allergic reactions – some people are allergic to the dyes and it can cause an itchy rash – even years after the tattoo , skin infections and bloodborne diseases – this may happen if the needles are contaminated with infected blood.”
Also, you risk yourself of approval from potential employers depending on the placement of the tattoos.
It’s important to make smart decisions when marking up your body because if you want your tattoo to be the start of your story not the end.
Email Angela at:
apender1@live.esu.edu
