Tattoos can either be a meaningful piece of art to mark one’s  body or they can be the product  of a long, regrettable night in  the city. These marks have long  been considered to be only for  those on the fringe of society,  but as society has increasingly  accepted this as a legitimate art  form, the tattoo has increased  in popularity and frequency especially among college students.

Even the Boston College administration has not decided to avoid  this obvious phenomenon, sending out an email to the student  body before the school year began giving some advice for those  potentially “thinking of ink.” The  email naturally discouraged students from acquiring “ink,” listing all the negative effects that  could be posed by getting a tattoo.

Some of the potential negative side effects listed included  discrimination in the workplace  and the potential for infections.  Despite these warnings, one  should not be completely deterred from expressing themselves in the form of tattoo. But  my first piece of advice is that  you should probably be in a proper state of mind when you make  the decision to get a tattoo.

Not  to sound like a broken record of  your parents, but this is pretty  much a permanent choice you  are making. Either you will live  with your tattoo for the rest of  your life, or you will live with the  scar from the removal. That removal, P.S., often costs ten times  more than getting the tattoo.  This is a pretty important decision  and the potential negative effects  are definitely there.

Discrimination does, in fact, occur in the  workplace and there is a chance  for a tattoo to become infected.  But a simple cure for both of  these problems that could result  from a tattoo is the use of plain,  old fashioned common sense.  For instance, if you decide, soberly or not, to get a tattoo,  maybe the full face Mike Tyson- like tattoo or the tear drops are  not the best choice. This might  put you at a disadvantage during the hiring process.

A place  that is not commonly seen, unlike the face, would be a good  place for a tattoo. Also, check  out the tattoo parlor before the  day you actually get the tattoo.  This prevents you from making  a poor choice in a state of inhibition. Just look around and that  in itself may be an indicator of  whether this is the best place to  have an open, exposed wound  being prodded by a needle.

The choice of a tattoo is the most  important part of the process.  This is the stage that makes the  difference between the trashy  “tramp stamp” and a meaningful  piece of art that is an expression  of yourself as a person.  Maybe  look at some pictures on the internet or look at the examples  provided by the parlor. Pick  something meaningful to you  and that will be meaningful for a  while to come. For instance, the  name of a boyfriend or girlfriend  has universally been decided  upon as a bad choice for a tattoo.

Getting a tattoo is an important  personal choice, but you should  seriously weigh all the potential  positive and negative side effects before you make this major decision. A tattoo can either  be a wonderful thing or it can  be a horrible memory of a foolish night. So think of this before  you walk into the tattoo parlor: do you really want “Notre  Dame Sucks” printed on your  chest for the rest of your life?