People get tattoos for a variety of reasons and SHU students are no exception. Students have tattoos that symbolize everything from their family to their passions.
Tattoos are a hot commodity today, as many people use them as a form of expression. 32% of Americans have tattoos, according to Katherine Schaeffer and Shradha Dinesh of Pew Research Center.
Typically college students are between the ages of 18-22, the ages in which it has just become legal for these students to get tattoos without parental approval.
According to a study conducted by Advanced Dermatology, 28% of Americans with tattoos got their first tattoo at 18.
SHU students have taken advantage of their newfound tattoo legality.
Family tattoos
Some students, like Kenny Roman, a senior marketing major, have tattoos that honor their family.
“My first tattoo was the island of Cuba because it’s where my grandparents are from,” Roman said.
Dragonfly Tattoo | Photo via Nicole Marrugo
Another student, Nicole Marrugo, a freshman business major, also has a tattoo dedicated to a family member. Marrugo’s tattoo of a dragonfly with GPS coordinates is dedicated to her grandfather, whom she never got the chance to meet.She said he raised “the most important woman in my life," referring to her mother.
Marrugo mentioned that after her grandfather passed away, her mother would see dragonflies everywhere. It would eventually symbolize that Marrugo’s grandfather was watching and protecting her.
She said it is a symbol of strength.
“It allows me to stop for a moment and think of my grandfather and how special he is,” Marrugo said.
“It reminds me that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be at that moment,” she added. “The coordinates keep me grounded — they remind me of my roots and where I’ve come from, no matter how far I go.”
Another student also has a tattoo honoring her grandparents, Adriana Laborante, a freshman social work major.
Koi Fish Tattoo | Photo via Adriana Laborante
Laborante’s tattoo is of two koi fish that represent her grandparents who raised her.
“[The tattoo is] there to remind me that the people who raised me are always with me no matter the occasion,” Laborante said.
Miley Rockelman, a freshman nursing major, has a story behind her tattoo that reminds her of something her father used to do when she was a child.
Rockelman’s tattoo is a rose that says “Love Mom and Dad” on the side.
“When I was younger and watched Beauty and the Beast a lot, my dad would say I was as pretty as a rose and brought me a rose everyday after school,” Rockelman said.
Sibling tattoos are popular amongst students as well.
Ivan Malave Vivas, a junior special education, elementary education and history major, has a tattoo of a circle surrounded by three triangles.
“It’s a sibling tattoo that represents me and my three sisters,” Malave Vivas said. “Two of my sisters have the same tattoo as well. It’s based on a fantasy game we used to play, and now it’s turned into a family crest.”
Complex and creative tattoos
Some students have tattoos that relate to something they love, that represent their personality, or that remind them of what they have overcome.
Unlike his first tattoo, Roman’s second tattoo is not another family memento but one that matches his favorite basketball player, Tracy McGrady, of thorns wrapped around his arm.
Thorn Tattoo | Photo via Kenny Roman
Snoopy Playing the Saxophone Tattoo | Photo via Amara McCowan
Like Roman, Amara McCowan, a freshman psychology major, said her tattoos symbolize different things.
McCowan’s first tattoo is of a saxophone, dedicated to her love of playing the instrument as a child. When deciding on her second tattoo, she went with Snoopy and Woodstock playing the saxophone, which represents her love of Snoopy.
Apart from her first tattoos, McCowan’s other tattoos symbolize more than simply showing her personality.
“One of my tattoos is for a belief [that] when we die we’ll turn into stars and the other is a homage to when it was only me and my mom,” McCowan said.
Some students have tattoos about life’s hardships.
Leia Fisher, a freshman computer science major, has two that symbolize this.
Semicolon Tattoo | Photo via Alivia Shearer
“My tattoos are from two separate ideas," Fisher said. "The semicolon was from my depression [and] self-harm and the second one was for the ‘Fairy Tale’ guilt symbol.”
Creative tattoos are common amongst students, and for Alivia Shearer, a freshman international relations and diplomacy major, her tattoo is a creative representation of herself.
Shearer’s tattoo is of a bow and arrow with a rose replacing the tip of the arrow.
“I’m a Sagittarius and my middle name is Rose,” Shearer said. “It also goes with my bow and arrow necklace that I wear since I really love bow and arrows.”
Students also get tattoos to show their culture, background, and beliefs.
Kiyoko Matsui, a freshman nursing major, has three tattoos: the feminism symbol, a tiger, and Japanese letters.
The tiger tattoo is framed by an outline of Korea and is a dedication to her Korean heritage.
“The Japanese letters are a memorial to my grandpa who was Japanese and the letters translate to ‘happiness is above the clouds,’” Matsui said. “My tattoos represent my culture and my beliefs.”
Tattoo tips
Students emphasized that when looking to get a tattoo it is important to know what you want to do. McCowan advised that students should “think it through.”
“If you [think you will] look back in 19 years and think this was a bad idea, don't do it,” McCowan said.
Adding onto McCowan’s comment, Fisher said to start small.
“Don’t go for some massive tattoo just in case you end up regretting it or can't handle the needles,” Fisher said.
All of the students noted that they had no regrets about the tattoos they have, because they symbolize a permanent part of them and what they love.
Rikiya Coulton is a writer for The Setonian’s Features section. She can be reached at rickiya.coulton@student.shu.edu.
