The tattoo artist’s gun buzzed constantly as he carefully worked on the tattoo on sophomore Danielle Robert’s wrist. She visited Bleeding Heart Tattoo in Lee’s Summit, Mo. on Saturday, Jan. 21, and decided to get the message, “I Love You 1960-2010,” in order to remember her father who passed away.

Tattoos continued to be a trend among students including Roberts due to their ability to help express themselves.

“The tattoo allows me to express how I feel about my dad,” Roberts said. “When people ask about it, I like informing them that there’s a story behind it.”

Although the tattoo satisfied Roberts, she disliked the necessary tasks beforehand. The shop required Roberts and her mother to fill out a lot of paperwork when they arrived.

“It was a long process that seemed to take forever,” Roberts said. “It was really annoying.”

Senior Marcus Grant decided to get a meaningful tattoo as well. Grant traveled to Westport on Friday, Jan. 13, and received the tattoos, “Life teaches,” and “love reveals,” on the inside of his arms. Grant got these tattoos because he always liked the quote and thought it contained a truthful meaning. Although he enjoyed the new tattoos, his favorite one consisted of a message for his mother on his chest that he got previously.

“I got the tattoo on my chest because my mom means a lot to me,” Grant said.

Grant also anjoyed the attention he received for the tattoos.

“I like tattoos because they make me stand out as much as bright clothing does,” Grant said.

Senior Madalyn McNally decided to get tattoos for this same reason when she visited Freaks on Broadway in Westport on Sunday, Jan. 15. She chose to get the Irish Celtic symbol to resemble her heritage. The tattoo contained a center with three spirals around it, representing past, present and future. It also represented mind, body and spirit and their correlation to one another.

“I chose to get the Celtic symbol because it is unique and it stands out,” McNally said. “You don’t see very many people with it.”

Despite their various reasoning, the students agreed that the best tattoos obtained a personal meaning or experience behind them.

“Tattoos are awesome when there’s some sort of story behind them,” Roberts said. “Those are the most powerful.”