Cooper 1
Brittney Cooper
Comp 1 Essay 1
February 5th, 2013
Blueberry Morningsnow

How it feels to be Body Modified Tattoos in my family have not been looked highly on in my family; it was okay for others to have them, but not us. I had always thought they were very expressive and beautiful. Tattoos tell a person’s life story. My great uncles all have them, but my grandparents, uncle and mom were all pretty against them. Everyone discouraged me to get any because they were permanent, and one day I’d regret them. I can’t speak for the distant future, but as right now I have no regrets getting any. Along with other open minded issues, it was more than common for my family and I to bump heads. I always thought it was so strange how they were so against some things that had nothing to personally do with them. When I was 17, it was my mom’s birthday and shed decided to get her nose pierced. I had begged for months to let me get my lip pierced, and she’d always said no. I kept pestering her about it, and she said to ask my grandpa. So I called, and he hadn’t really given me a direct answer, and I went through with it. When we got home, and my grandpa took one look at me, full of confusion and left the room. I felt like I had disappointed him, and though it bothered me, he’d get over it eventually. It was my choice after all. After about a week, he broke his silence. A few months after that, I told my mom and grandpa both that if I could get my belly button pierced, that I’d hold off on a tattoo; they both agreed. After getting the first couple piercings, I could not stop thinking about getting a tattoo. Many long talks later, hours of thinking and laying out the reaction of my family, I scheduled my first tattoo appointment on my 18th birthday. I decided on a pair of angel wings on my right wrist with the words “Never Forgotten” in memory of my grandma, who passed away in 2006. It was exactly how I pictured it, I absolutely loved it. Much to my surprise, my grandpa wasn’t a bit upset. I think the fact that it was a piece that had great meaning to me helped a lot. Some months after, I scheduled two more. My grandpa had actually liked both of them! It felt very relieving to know that my family wasn’t disappointed in my decisions, which made me like my new tattoos even more. A couple of months before getting my most recent tattoo, I began stretching my lobes. My family was not a big fan of them at all, but they didn’t discourage me. It was my body to do what I pleased with. I thought it was awesome; I always had liked the way stretched lobes looked. One day I had a costumer rudely asked me if I had golf tees stuck in my ears. I wasn’t upset, mad or angry. I was so astonished by how judgmental people can be to others who don’t look exactly like them. I was me, and I didn’t want to look like everyone else. It was then I realized I can never make