High school is typically a time for students to play around with the idea of who they see themselves as and how they want to express themselves. For some, this expression is seen in clothing options, hairstyles, art and possibly piercings. But for a growing number of students, this expression has become a permanent part of their bodies with tattoos.

“Besides the fact that [tattoos] are cute, they’re something that’s kind of signature for being young and having fun,” senior Tiffany Robbins said. Robbins is one of the many students who has recently gotten a tattoo.

This year, more and more students have been making the decision to get tattoos, a trend becoming increasingly popular among the high school population. While many students would second guess placing something as permanent as a tattoo on their body, for Robbins, the decision was easy.

“[My tattoo] is an ankh which means eternal spirit and strength,” Robbins said. “I’m Christian and I wanted something that is meaningful to me and something that I knew would be really important throughout my life.”

For other students, such as senior Hunter Haralson, their tattoos are more for fun rather than personal reasons. Haralson got a tattoo of his last name across his upper back, which he figured would go along with his wrestling attire.

“[I got my tattoo because] I thought it would look cool when I wrestle with it,” Haralson said.

One senior, however, uses tattoos as an essential tool for expressing his emotions, beliefs, and who he is. Senior Montana Locke currently has four tattoos and plans to get more.

“I have a bird on my chest, a celtic cross on my back, the word ‘family’ across my arm and a dream catcher on my upper arm,” Locke said. “And I’m going to get ‘never back down, never give up’ across my collarbone on Friday.”

For Locke, each tattoo has it’s own unique purpose and meaning as well.

“The bird was for my great grandpa, I got the cross because I’m Irish, and then I got the dream catcher just because of the meaning of a dream catcher,” Locke said.

For each of these students, the experience of getting their tattoos was different. For Robbins and the friend she brought with her for emotional support, senior Candace Barnes, the experience became slightly frantic.

“[Barnes] had never gotten a tattoo before either, so since she had never gotten a tattoo her and I were both freaking out,” Robbins said. “She was like, ‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, is it going to hurt? Oh my god.’”

Despite the excitement of a new experience, and having something unique on their bodies, the question becomes is it really a good idea to get a tattoo in high school? Haralson believes so.

“[High school students should get tattoos] because they’re freaking sweet,” Haralson said.

Robbins, despite getting a tattoo in high school, sees the downsides to making this type of decision at this age.

“I feel like a lot of tattoos that people get at this age they’ll regret it later because they won’t feel as strongly about it later on in life,” Robbins said. “And if they don’t have something that attaches them to something that they permanently put on their body then they’ll get sick of it.”

No matter what decision students decide to make, there are key pieces of advice students need to know before receiving their first tattoo, the first being finding a tattoo that will resemble something of importance to them.

“Make sure [your tattoo] actually means something to you and that it’s not something stupid that you’re going to regret for the rest of your life,” Haralson said.

After finding a good design, Robbins personally advises bringing someone along for moral support when getting a tattoo, but to be careful of who you choose to bring.

“Make sure the person you’re there with, you’re comfortable enough with that they can see you scream and and cry or let you squeeze their hand really hard,” Robbins said. “So probably someone that you would feel comfortable having a kid in front of or something.”