People use tattoos to tell stories and remind them of friends and family members. They can help get people through difficult times.

Megan O’Meara (12) decided to get a tattoo to express a difficult time in her life. She went on the anniversary of her uncle’s death (September 26) to get a meaningful tattoo.

“My grandma had breast cancer and my uncle had colon cancer,” O’Meara said. “I was taking it kind of hard, so I wanted something I could always remember them by.”

She chose to get a tattoo of a phrase her uncle always said during his battle with cancer: “Never give up.” She had the tattoo artist replace the “i” in “give” with a pink breast cancer ribbon to represent her Grandma’s fight against breast cancer. Megan’s tattoo is something that will be a continuous reminder of her grandma and uncle.Jocelyn Carranza (12), chose to get a tattoo because she wanted to try something new. On her 18th birthday, she decided to go and get a tattoo with her mom.

“I wanted to get [a tattoo] with my mom so it would mean something to the both of us,” said Carranza.

Her tattoo is also a phrase, similar to O’Meara’s. Her’s says “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity,” which surrounds an arrow pointing forward.

“[My tattoo] is a reminder that if you’re having a difficult time, there is always going to be an opportunity that is going to be open and you can take that path,” Carranza said.

Though Carranza’s tattoo was something she could scratch off her bucket list, it also will always bring her memories of her mother when she is away from her, and will always remind her to push forward when times are hard.

Others have less sentimental value behind their tattoo like senior Sam Patt, who got matching tattoos of tiny pizza slices with his best friend.

Sam’s experience was particularly unique because he had a fellow friend tattoo him with a needle and ink, because he couldn’t afford to go to a tattoo parlor.

“[My tattoo] is a ‘stick-and-poke’ tattoo, which means you take a sewing needle and water-based ink, and each individual dot was poked individually.”

This made Patt’s tattoo a lot more painful than a parlor tattoo, but the pain was all worth it so he could have a special bond with his best friend. He hopes to get more tattoos on his arms and back in the future.

Tattoos can be a little bit painful but it is all worth the stories they tell. These pieces of art that stick with people for an eternity can be a constant reminder of people and memories.