Tattoo Mayhem

Photo Credit: Maris Davis

Coming to college is one of the biggest life changing events that a person can experience. However, new environments, people, and classes aren’t the only changes going on for many college students. Being presented with the opportunity to change themselves into someone completely new leads many students to one place more than any other – the tattoo parlor. Sometimes, though, the results are not as originally satisfying as one may have hoped.
Plymouth State sophomore, Marissa Davis, knows first hand how a simple trip to the tattoo shop can go completely awry. When deciding on her first tattoo, Davis chose the quote “Stay Gold” from the popular movie The Outsiders to be placed on the tops of her feet. What she wasn’t expecting was the whole experience of going to get this artwork done. 

“It was a really sketchy shop,” Davis said, referring not only to the parlor itself but those working there. “The tattoos were on my feet, so it was hard to hold still while he was working, but he wouldn’t hold my feet down or anything. Every now and then he’d say ‘whoops’ and I’d be like ‘What do you mean whoops?’” While the mistakes in the intricate writing were few, Davis plans to have them fixed at a better parlor later on. She still loves the tattoos, though, and doesn’t regret having them done.

In a similar situation to Davis’s, freshman, Kyle Williamson, shared one of his first tattoo experiences as well. Williamson had decided to get a note from his grandfather tattooed on his upper arm, reading ‘Surround yourself with the ones you love and who love you back is the only way to become truly happy.’ It wasn’t until he arrived home that Williamson realized there was a mistake. The word ‘to’ had not been printed between the words ‘only way’ and ‘become truly happy,’ leaving the quote with a missing word. “I showed it to my dad and he was so mad,” Williamson said. “I asked him if I should go get it fixed and he told me ‘No, you’re a [freaking] idiot.” Despite his father’s advice, Williamson did return to the parlor later that same day to have the missing word added to his arm, noting that he didn’t receive a discount for the mistake.

While mistakes made at the hands of the shops and workers can be aggravating, they have a hard time comparing to the frustration of having no one to blame but the one getting the tattoo. This was the case for freshman Juliana Albert when last year she decided to get a tattoo with her friends. “I had been drinking that night,” said Albert, “but I made my friends drive to the tattoo place.” Albert recounts that she decided to get a pair of lips tattooed on her rear end. “Yeah, a kiss mark. My kiss mark,” Albert said, laughing. The parlor had her kiss a lamination to get the imprint of her own lips. “I’m still into it,” Albert said. “Though I’m not sure if I would have done it sober. Depends on my mood that day.”

Also caught in the situation of hasty tattoo decisions, junior, Brent Lyskawa, tells the story of when he went to get his tattoo three years ago. “I was having a party at my house,” Lyskawa said. “We were all drinking, there were maybe 150 people in my basement, and my friends decided it would be a good idea to go get tattoos.” 

After leaving his neighbor in charge of the party, that’s exactly what Lyskawa and his friends did. It wasn’t until the next day that the hype of the night wore off and Lyskawa realized what he had done. 

“I didn’t even notice it until I was in the shower,” Lyskawa said. After a bit of encouragement from his friends, Lyskawa reluctantly agreed to show the bottom of his stomach, where “Almost Famous” was printed directly above his belt. “I had wanted to get my whole chest done,” said Lyskawa, explaining his reasoning for the placement of his tattoo. “So I thought: Why not start at the bottom? I haven’t gotten another tattoo since.”

While tattoos can be a great way to creatively express one’s self and personality, it doesn’t mean they always go as planned. Whether it be mistakes made at the hands of the artist or late night ideas that may not seem so great in the morning, tattoos are risky decisions that can either be loved or regretted for the rest of one’s life. Thinking through the decision and knowing what can be expected from the parlor are great ways to avoid tattoo mayhem. If worse comes to worst, though, at least there’s always a good story to be told.