Body Art

My son claims that he is in love, and he wants everyone to know it. He sometimes writes his girlfriend's name on his arm or hand for everyone to see. I wonder if this is a prelude to other things, such as tattoos and other body art. He claims that he is wary of needles and never plans to get a tattoo--I hope this is really the case. Not that tattoos are awful, in and of themselves. But how many people have declared their love through tattoos, only to want them removed or altered after a break up? I bet this is really common--even many celebrities have been seen with their lover's name--and then later seen with either a scar or a variation of the original tattoo. I even will dare to say that MANY people, no matter WHAT they chose to have tattooed on their body, one day regret it. On the other hand, I know some people who are very proud of their tattoos and have been for many years. My advice would be to think about the future--especially when it comes to personalizing things with the name of a loved one. I am just glad that my son's current body art is washable and not permanent--life is full of changes and tattoos aren't meant to be changed. They CAN be, but the wiser choice would be to NOT put something meant to be permanent on your body when you are young--I think many young people will regret doing that some day. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have to face this issue in the near future with my teens--at least I hope not!