As many of the Bowie senior class turns eighteen, they do what anyone who enjoys the freedom of now being legally an adult: get a tattoo.

 
“I think you are emancipated at that point, you can do whatever you want to and in the end the consequences are your own,” senior Rebecca Duran said.

 
It’s common when asking someone about his or her first tattoo to discover there’s meaning or a story behind it.
“Tattoos can be just tattoos but for your first one, especially for a person’s first one it has to have a good meaning,” senior Derek Thomas said. “I think it has to because it should mean something to you when you have to look at it everyday.”
However, in contrast to popular belief that a tattoo must have an underlying meaning, some students feel that a tattoo can just be a piece of art.

 
“A lot of people say tattoos are stupid unless they have a super abstract, convoluted story behind them,” Duran said. “I think it’s great to have symbolic tattoos, but I also respect people who get tattoos just because they think they’re beautiful. There’s certain pieces that I’ve seen and I’m just like ‘that’s gorgeous and I would love that to be on my body’ not because there’s a story behind it.”
Part of the fun of getting a tattoo is deciding where it will be placed.

 
“Placing is one of the fun parts. You get to pick what image you want or what words you want and then you get to pick where you want it on your body,” Duran said. I think placing can also play into the significance of the tattoo.”
Something to consider when determining placement is the level of pain.

 
“Its all about what you’re getting and your pain tolerance because it hurts varying where you get it,” Thomas said.
Another concern for those wanting to get a tattoo is how it will affect a person getting their future jobs and careers.
“I’ve tried to use discretion and put them in tasteful spots because I realize that once you get into the real world most careers aren’t very accepting of very prominent, very bold visible tattoos,” Duran said. “I’m keeping that in mind and I think that’s a big part of what plays into the choice of where you’re going to get a tattoo.”

 
Although it’s not encouraged for a student to get a tattoo against their parents’ wishes, there are some students who hide their tattoos.
“I think it’s a little silly, I think I should be able to show my parents but they’re from a different time period where tattoos had different connotations than what they do now,” Duran said. “I don’t think it’s this inherently unresponsibly thing to hide your tattoos. It’s your body; it’s your life.”

 
For those who like tattoos, but don’t want to be committed to one can try a henna tattoos, a form of temporary body art.
Seeing pictures of girls showing off their henna is inevitable when logging on to Instagram and other various social medias.
“Henna is really fun for those of us who love tattoos but run from commitment like the plague,” senior Lindsey Sageser said.
Originating from Indian culture for ceremonies, henna has been adopted into Austin culture for those who love body art with the luxury of knowing it’ll be gone in a few weeks.

 
“Contrary to popular belief, the main purpose of henna isn’t just to make teenagers at festivals look cool,” Sageser said. “I think henna is really fun and perfect for the fickle-minded, but it’s also important to appreciate the art culture that we sort of steal this art form from.”