Everything is up to interpretation, including tattoos. When these four girls are spotted in the halls, their peers may come up with their own interpretations of the tattoos each girl has. But regardless of how other students may perceive them, each tattoo will always contain a story of love, luck, cultural pride or self-discovery embedded within its ink.

Salina Ye

As someone who walks the line between two different cultures, senior Salina Ye recognized the fact that she may one day lean more toward one culture than the other. Despite this, Ye resolved to find a permanent way to preserve her family’s background and culture so that she would never forget who she is.

This past July, Ye decided to act upon a wish she’d had since she was 14 — to get a tattoo. Her desire to get a tattoo was initially met with resistance from family members, meaning that Ye had to do some bargaining so that she could have the Chinese character representing her last name tattooed on her upper arm. Ye eventually agreed to her family’s terms — maintaining a rigorous school schedule and attending school events, such as dances — because she “really wanted that tattoo.” Once these terms were agreed upon, it was time for Ye to go under the needle.

“[Before getting the tattoo] I was thinking, ‘Remember Salina, you can get out of this right until the needle touches your skin,’” Ye said. “There definitely was a lot of fear. I was looking at my arm, knowing that it’s never going to look the same again.”

But despite her initial worries, Ye stood firm on her choice because she knew the significance her tattoo would hold.

“My family is very oriented in Chinese traditions, but I also live in America,” Ye said. “Intuitively, I just know that as I get older, I’m going to forget about the Chinese side, and I don’t want to forget that. I’m really proud of who I am; I’m proud of my family’s background and culture, so I just wanted the tattoo as a reminder for me to realize that I’m never going to forget who I am.”

Kylie Jennings

For senior Kylie Jennings, her relationship with her family has always been important, so when she made the choice to get a tattoo, it was by instinct that she decided to recognize her bond with her father. In June 2013, after eight months of deliberation, Jennings went to the tattoo parlor with her father get a tattoo of “BK” inscribed on her inner ankle. The tattoo, which is the nickname given to Jennings by her father, is written in his handwriting and is especially meaningful now that her father must spend more time working out of state than at home.

“Now that my Dad lives in Oklahoma probably seven-eighths of the time, it’s like he’s gone, but he’s not — he’s still on my ankle,” Jennings said.

While the meaning behind Jennings’s tattoo is already important, it is heightened by the fact that she is constantly aware of the tattoo.

“The weird thing is I always know exactly where it is on my body,” Jennings said. “Even though it’s not raised because it’s in my skin, I always can tell where it is on my body, even if I’m just sitting there I can feel it, even though I can’t physically feel it.”

Despite her excitement, Jennings worried about receiving negative comments from her peers about the tattoo.

“I was really worried when I first got my tattoo that people would judge me harshly for it, but now I don’t care,” Jennings said. “If you don’t like tattoos, it’s my body. I don’t understand why people get so worked up when other people have tattoos when it’s not their body.”

Once Jennings stopped worrying about how others would perceive her tattoo, she came to her own conclusion about what attitude people should have toward tattoos.

“Do what you want; tattoo whatever you want,” Jennings said. “Even if you want to get something that’s just pretty — it doesn’t need to have a significant meaning behind it, in my opinion, — that’s okay. If you think it’s cool, that’s okay because it’s your body, and you should do what you want.”

Jada Torian

This past July, junior Jada Torian celebrated her 16th birthday by getting an elephant tattooed on the side of her stomach. Before getting the tattoo, Torian was overwhelmed by a sense of apprehension, despite having wanted a tattoo for some time.

“I was terrified,” Torian said. “I was thinking, ‘Am I sure I want to get this? Am I sure I want to get it here? Am I sure I want to get anything today? Let’s just turn back and go home.’ But I just decided that I just had to get it because I needed this, and I’d been waiting for this.”

Once she was able to overcome her initial hesitations, Torian was able to focus on the significance behind her tattoo.

“I like how the elephant represents good luck, protection and strength,” Torian said. “I really needed it because it’s been a rough past few years, and I really needed something that at least made me feel like I have some good luck.”

Though she was proud of her tattoo, she was also curious to know what her peers would think of the tattoo, so she posted a photo of it on Instagram, earning many positive comments from friends.

“It made me feel good, like I made the right decision,” Torian said. “I already knew that I had because I don’t care if anybody else likes it because I like it; it’s mine. But it was awesome that my friends supported it, and that made me feel even better.”

With the support of her friends and family, Torian was able to feel even more confident about her tattoo than she already was, and she shared advice for others considering getting a tattoo.

“If you want a tattoo, it’s not as bad as people may think it is, so don’t stress out about it,” Torian said. “Just make sure that’s what you want on your body unless you want to go through a very painful removal process in the future. You have to know it’s what you want and where you want it, and just go for it.”

Carsyn Greet

In December 2013, sophomore Carsyn Greet began creating a collection of tattoos. She currently has five tattoos scattered over her body, all of which remind her of the admiration she has for art and the importance of persevering through life.

“I thought tattoos would really be different, and they’d make me more unique because not a lot of people here have tattoos,” Greet said. “I’ve just had a love of them for a long time — especially after I got my first one.”

Across Greet’s ribs is a tattoo that reads “God is still working on me,” which to Greet serves as a reminder that “He’s not finished yet” and that she “still [has] time.” Her hipbone reads “Inhale, Exhale,” which signifies the importance of life, despite her past struggles. Greet also has “Dreamer” under her right arm to inspire her to “keep dreaming about [her] goals” for the future.

Most recently, Greet got her largest tattoo which says “She flies with her own wings” in Latin. This tattoo stands for her moment of self-discovery when she “found [her] soul” and who she truly is.

Though the majority of Greet’s tattoos have deep meaning behind them, she also has a tattoo that proves that art doesn’t have to have an abstract explanation in order to be worthy of becoming a tattoo.

“I also have a star and moon on my foot which I got just to get,” Greet said, “So there isn’t really importance behind it other than it’s something I like.”

For Greet, the tattoos have even more significance as a group than individually because they mark a turning point in her life which will be memorialized for years to come.

“[My family and friends] understood that [getting my tattoos] was my breakaway to become who I am today, and they knew the meaning behind them, and they aren’t just some random tattoos,” Greet said. “I want to grow up and have these as a reminder that I got through it –— all the hard times — and I think my family and friends respect that.”