A Happy Medium by Erin Murtaugh

Since turning 18, and many of my friends are also 18 or older, it’s now legal for us to get tattoos. In today’s society, more and more people are getting tattoos. Whether they’re big elaborate pieces, or something small, they’re becoming more and more common.

I have a few tattoos, only two of which are visible when I choose for them to be. I have a camera tattooed on my ankle, which of course only shows when I’m wearing a dress, capris or shorts.

I also have the sign language symbol for “I love you” on the back of my neck, which is only visible when I have my hair pulled up.

I have two tattoos on my ribs, only visible when I want to show someone or when I’m in a swimming suit. They are a quote from the book “I’ll Love You Forever” and my mom’s handwriting underneath, and also a pink ribbon in the shape of the word “hope.” All of my tattoos have significant meaning to me, and that’s all that matters.

Some people choose to have tattoos to decorate their body. These tattoos don’t usually have meaning to them other than that they look pretty. That’s perfectly acceptable, too. Whether its for meaning or for decoration, it’s your body and you should be able to put what you want on it without having an issue.

One thing I hope will change in the near future is tolerance of tattoos in the workplace. With how popular tattoos are becoming, it’s almost inevitable that eventually a tattooed person may run into an issue getting a job because of their ink. This shouldn’t be the case. Unless you have tattoos in a silly location (like across your forehead) or the tattoo is offensive, such as a naked lady or a curse word, there should be no issue with the tattoo being visible in the workplace.

If you or someone you know has run into issues with tattoos in the workplace, I would love to get in contact with you. Email me, find me on Facebook, send me smoke signals or whatever your preferred method of communication is, let’s chat.

 

Albert Lea High School graduate Erin Murtaugh is a first-year student at Rochester Community and Technical College. She can be reached at murtaugh.erin@gmail.com.