When students further their education and go to college, they are able to discover more about themselves and express themselves in new ways. For some students on campus, they choose to express and emote parts of themselves through pictures and quotes inked on their skin from tattoos.
Sophomore Frankie Hamilton has a total of seven tattoos. She decided to share about two of her favorites. She got her first tattoo, a quote of ‘i belong deeply to myself’ during her senior year of high school back in 2019 after a rough patch in her life.
“After graduation, I was just like, what’s a way for me to take my voice back?” said Hamilton. “I felt like my tattoo—this was the first one I got, ever—and it says ‘i belong deeply to myself.’ No matter who has done what to me or what has happened, my mind, my body and soul will always belong to me first.”
The second tattoo Hamilton shared is a pair of hands holding a crystal ball. She got this tattoo a little over a year ago in January.
“No matter what you’ve been through, what you go through, you’re always in charge of what you make your life; your future,” said Hamilton. “Like what you become, who you become, type of thing.”
Hamilton shared how getting the tattoos didn’t really hurt, but ironically in this sense, she has a fear of needles and psyches herself out in the moments leading up to actually getting the tattoo. Despite this, she plans on getting more as time goes on.
Katlin Sanning and Frankie Hamilton. Photo by Olivia Westcott.
Katlin Sanning, sophomore, is another student who uses their body ink to express themselves. Sanning has a total of eight tattoos, and decided to share about three of them.
Sanning got her late Grandma Lila’s signature on her collarbone during her senior year of high school in 2019. She got this because her grandma played an important role in her life growing up, and Sanning thought she was a very respectable person. She wanted something to remember her by.
The second tattoo Sanning shared is the quote ‘I was not built to break,’ which is on her ribs. Sanning got this tattoo in 2019 as well. This tattoo is meant to remind Sanning of where she has come from and how she is better and stronger from the day before.
“I wanted to get something that reminded me that despite what I’ve come from, I can always have a better outcome,” said Sanning. “I can change my future and I can change my life and adult years.”
Sanning shared this tattoo hurt the most out of the ones she has gotten, and she had cried when it was being completed.
The final tattoo Sanning is sharing is a quote on her spine which says ‘Life is tough my darling but so are you’.
Sanning got this quote on her back because it reminded her of something her mother would say. She also got it to remind herself there are resources and outlets available for when you feel like you’re struggling, no matter how hard things get.
Like Hamilton, Sanning plans on getting more ink throughout her life.
