Story By: Hannah Montgomery
Tattoos and piercings are becoming a more common thing in our world. From a simple ear piercing to being covered in tattoos, everyone has their own preference.
Tattoos tend to have a certain meaning to the person. There have been quite a few trends throughout social media that portray certain tattoos with specific meanings or awareness.
Nicole Gardner is a senior at Missouri Western who has five tattoos. Out of all of them, there is one that means the most to her, and is also one that has been talked about on social media; a semicolon.
“It has a triple meaning to me,” Gardner said. “Anxiety, depression and writing all have a part in my life.”
Gardner has been through a lot throughout her life. Five open-heart surgeries, a broken back, cancer and a stroke.
“With semicolons in writing, it’s supposed to mean that the sentence can end, but it keeps going,” Gardner said. With me, I’ve almost died seven times, so this tattoo means a lot to me. My story just keeps going.”
Although tattoos are a way of expression, piercings are also a way that people like to express themselves. Michelle Price, a senior, has a total of 10 piercings: two nose piercings; a septum piercing; a lip piercing (vertical philtrum), gauged ear lobes and four other ear piercings.
“It’s a really good form of artistic and bodily expression,” Price said. “It’s something I’ve always loved since I was a little girl.”
Price got her first piercing when she was seven years old and just went on from there. Her double nose piercing is her favorite. It was something she had always wanted and thought it was really beautiful on other people.
“My most painful piercing was my lip piercing, which is called a vertical philtrum,” Price said. “The tissue there is really sensitive and it really hurt.”
Price has many piercings, but no tattoos yet. Even though she has quite a few planned out, and also has artists picked out, she doesn’t have the funds just yet.
Many people will get tattoos that profess their faith. Crosses, scripture, inspirational quotes and other things are really popular with tattoos.
Jessica Hoffman is a sophomore and has two tattoos, both important to her faith.
“I have one on my foot that says ‘Walk by Faith’ and one on my ribs that is a symbol for ‘God is greater than the highs and lows’,” Hoffman said. “I got them because I love the meaning that they have behind them.”
Hoffman got the one on her foot because it is from her favorite bible verse, 2 Corinthians 5:7. The one on her ribs is a reminder for her to not stress the little things and to stay humble when good things come her way.
“The one on my foot definitely hurt the most,” Hoffman said. “I would like to get one more with my sister, but that would probably be the last one.”
There are so many ways and meanings to express oneself with a tattoo or piercing. Everyone has their own preference and each one is unique. Whether a person is covered in tattoos and piercings, or they just have a few with special meanings, there’s an interesting story behind each one.