Featured photo is Aleea Johnston’s tattoo
Tattoos hold significant meaning as symbols of identity among many young people today. In California, where the legal age for getting a tattoo is 18, high schoolers often anticipate this milestone birthday as an opportunity to visit a tattoo parlor and bring their long-held tattoo visions to life.
UHS News recently interviewed two Wildcats from the local high school who were fortunate enough to have already gotten tattoos. These individuals shared insights into their experiences and the inspiration behind their ink.
Senior Lucy Talso recently got a stick-and-poke tattoo of a cat scratching her ankle, given by one of her friends. Before getting the tattoo, Lucy discovered that the design resembled Simon’s Cat, a character from the popular cartoon series “Simon’s Cat” that debuted in 2008.
When asked about the pain level of getting a tattoo, Lucy responded confidently, “Not painful at all, actually, like I could’ve taken a nap,” during an interview with UHS News.
Stick and poke tattoos involve manually creating designs by repeatedly puncturing the skin with a needle, unlike professional tattoos done with a machine. Despite this, Lucy found the process surprisingly comfortable and is pleased with her unique tattoo inspired by the well-known animated series.
12th grader Aleea Johnston recently got a special tattoo on the inside of her arm. It shows a turtle with a hibiscus flower and Roman numerals. The numbers are her birthday, which she shares with both her grandpas. Johnston wants to add green eyes to the turtle because green eyes are common in her family.
Getting the tattoo wasn’t too painful on the outside of her arm, but it hurt more on the inside. Johnston managed the pain by taking breaks and chatting with the tattoo artist. The whole tattoo cost $100, which she thought was fair.
Johnston isn’t worried about what others might think because she can easily cover the tattoo if needed. She’s happy with how it turned out and feels it’s a special way to honor her family.
Abi Allred is a 9th who enjoys sleeping, eating, and wrestling on the weekends. She wants to do computer stuff in the Air Force and be a pediatrician later on.
