Everyone has heard it before, the condescending, “You really need to think on that… Tattoos are permanent” spiel. I’m here to say that the person who said that to you is wrong. 

The notion that tattoos have to have meaning is incredibly bumptious. Tattoos are an art form and art doesn’t have to have meaning behind it. Art can just be art. And you can just want a cool thing on your body for “forever.” 

The proselytizers who argue in favor of the importance of memento when the occurrence of ink injections into the skin will always lay great importance on the permanence of tattoos. They’ll tell you not to go get the silly little gnome or cat on your ankle because liking it isn’t enough.

They’ll cry out and say, “But what does it really mean to you!” and you, dear reader, can say, “Nothing. Hop off.” 

It really is that simple. So long as you acknowledge the permanence of a tattoo and how its imagery can change people’s first impression of you then you can get whatever tattoo you want. 

The argument that tattoos have to be meaningful is trite. Tattoos are in their most abstract and objective form: ink that you wear and ink that is kind of permanent (unless you want to suffer the wrath of laser tattoo removal). The main point is that because tattoos are permanent, they should hold meaning. 

But who among us has such consistent things of importance that remain important forevermore? 

Variables for what make something noteworthy change throughout our lives and will never ever remain constant. You, of course, have the typical constants i.e., religion, family, and triumph (typically after mental health struggles). But if we only allow these events that can often be traumatic to be deemed the only ink worth getting tattooed, then there would be no tattoo artists to work with. The amount of people who would be allowed to get a tattoo would drop drastically.

This isn’t even mentioning how our own personal aesthetics rapidly change due to personal growth, societal exposure and the cycle of flip-flopping trends.  

Due to both the impermanent nature of much of our fixations in life and the constant changing of stylistic trends the notion that all tattoos should have meaning to be printed onto your flesh is foolish. 

Tattoos are supposed to be an artform; something that reflects beauty and individuality in a society that enforces conformity. Tattoos are supposed to be a statement of our quirks, likes, past and present desires. Just liking an aesthetic tattoo you saw on Pinterest is a good enough reason to get it, if you so desire. 

This is not a hate article on tattoos that mark important milestones or intense personal meaning. This is just meant to fight back against the narrative of tattoos being forced into boxes that are rigid and must have relation to a serious topic. 

The most glorious and unique part of tattoos is how subjective they can be. There’s only one wrong answer when it comes to tattoos; that they have to have meaning. 

Garrett McEntee is a 19-year-old English sophomore from Benton.