Definition of Me, Essay Example

On Teenagers and Tattoos speaks about teenagers struggles to find their own unique identity in this world. Peer pressure has a greater impact on young adolescents than any other age group. As parents engage in careers it is very difficult for children to cope with everyday life and the pressures of school, sex, money, emotional affairs and other related issues. As teenagers begin to hang out with the wrong crowds they often begin to experiment with the idea of having tattoos and body piercings as a fad.  Teenagers are subject to peer pressure and succumb to the fad of body piercings to show that they have meaning and value in this very complicated society. Because legislation makes it illegal for minors under the age of eighteen to subject themselves to body piercings often young school aged children group together and subject themselves to homemade piercings amongst themselves. They often do this by means of needle piercings with the aide of ice puncture which is not medically safe or very clean.  Researchers find often when a young person decides to make such a statement as a body piercing it is often due to a conflict at home with a parent and the child wants to make a rebellious statement.

There appears to be an emotional turmoil and imbalance of the emotions of the teenager with relation to communications with the parents. Often school pressures are at top peak and the young adolescent does not know who to turn to for advice or is getting the wrong advice from peers. It would be more proactive for the young adolescent to simply make a ‘Keep Out’ sign and hang it on their door to make such a strong and coercive positive non-harmful statement to their parents. “Piercings become a permanent fixture on the body of the youngster than either cannot be removed or is quite painful to remove.” (On Teenagers and Tattoos 2). When the public views piercings on a young child’s body there is a certain stigma attached to the person such as ‘trashy’ or uncultured and that stigma is reflected on the values and character of the parents, also.

Adolescents are simply feeling they don’t fit in and are making a bold statement of rebellion to make themselves fit in-a negative statement without fully considering all repercussions. Often children and young adolescents present themselves through facades such as joining pep squads and cheerleading teams because they don’t like themselves. They even disown their friends or should I say their true friends and later learn they do not even like who they have become. After a body piercing is made on a child they often are not able to participate in situations such as dance team and pep squad because their appearance is not socially conducive towards that kind of activity. They fall into a category of a juvenile delinquent or a misfit. Often they are viewed as persons of low character or persons related to gang activity. The most damaging part of getting a tattoo is the physical damage the tattoo causes. It is almost irreparable. Removing a tattoo is very painful even more so that putting a tattoo in the body. When adolescents take a look in the mirror they see themselves as a totally different person and often have lost all that were once close to them because they have put on a front to the world-a mask! The tattoo seems to give them a different image of themselves initially but later in life they may change that image and may be sorry. For example if an adult or young adolescent wants to wear a nice evening gown or a sexy shirt the tattoo will appear depending where it is placed and it is very discerning and distasteful to have the outward appearance of a tattoo on your body when wearing a very fancy and high class gown or shirt. The appearance is tarnished and lessened. Often adolescents do not give thought to future decisions when making the decision to put a tattoo on their precious bodies.

A tattoo is a symbol of a mask. A tattoo is placed on a body to mask a feeling of unhappiness or to change a feeling that one is feeling to bring about a new feeling whether it be remorse, vengeance or pure animosity or rebellion. Masks depicts a young child that wants to be just like another child who appears to be perfect with a pretty little dress and pretty little stockings and a picture perfect little painting.  Hence the little girl dresses pretty the next day but to her amazement the children laugh at her on the playground and the other child receives comfort from her mother but the other child receives none. She can’t understand why she is being made fun of because she has changed her appearance almost picture perfect to the little girl she wants to imitate.  The irony is that one cannot copy that of another and expect the same result. One should be content with what he/she has and find happiness from within and don’t expect support from others that are out to shun you. Though the other girl wanted to be just like her she could never measure up because she was different. Her parents did not allow her to date like the other girl could; she had different principles and tried to accept those as her own but did not like them. She wanted to hate the other girl but could not because the other girl was kind and nice to her and welcomed her. The point came where the second girl accepted they were different and accepted they were friends until once day she said hello to the well liked girl and was completely ignored. The irony is that the well liked girl was with other girls who wore masks and pretended to be of a higher calibre hence she pretended to be someone else too. “Her friends and their fake adoration were her mask.” (Masks 2). It was then that the other girl realized that she was not the lesser one that she was the stronger one or the more independent one! The entire time she wanted to change her appearance she was feeling ‘less than and unworthy’. She wanted to be more than and feel equal to. But she soon learned that she was equal if not better and the feeling laid within herself and her way of thinking and not through changes of her physical appearance. Sure one can make positive changes of their physical appearance to make themselves feel better about themselves. That is very positive for one’s self esteem but that change should be made for one’s self and not through the eyes of another. Self-worth is built on making positive change to make one happy and not by comparing one to another. One should not perish emotionally if they do not compare to another. We are all unique in God’s eyes and have something very unique and special to offer in this world and it is about finding that special gift within our self to rise to the top of our game.

Getting a tattoo is serious decision and should never be done under peer pressure. You should carefully think the situation over and once you have made the decision then carefully think over what design you want and where you want to place the tattoo. Remember this will be a permanent fixture with you for the rest of your life. Tatoos are also dangerous because there is a high risk of contracting HIV, Hepatitis and other diseases from the needles used to put the tattoo on your arm, leg or other body part. Often places do not use new needles and they are not required to do so because they are not licensed. Because they are not licensed they often give tattoos to minors under the age of eighteen against the law. We have not even mentioned the use of ink is not medically safe for the body. Often some of these ‘fly by night’ tattoo parlours use less than good grade inks and do not know the proper techniques to administer a tattoo and there is some ink seepage into the skin which can lead to ink poisoning.

Even if you are considering a body piercing instead of a tattoo the same rules apply medically speaking. A body piericing may not be as dangerously infinitely for a young teen because if one decides not to wear the body piercing any longer the hole will simply close and there will be no permanent damage to suffer. The emotional causes for getting a body piercing stand strong along with the reasons teens get tattoos. Teens are normally rebellious or want to make a statement which usually gives rise to some type of emotional distress or uncertainty in their life. Research shows this distress usually comes in the form of problems within the home, problems at school or problems with social relationships with friends. Acting out as such is not the solution to the problem. Counselling and communication is the key. Educating the young adolescents that there are other ways to handle the emotions they are feeling other than to resort to permanent damage to their body and emotions is the key to keeping the young teenagers fit for the future.