When you imagine someone with tattoos, what age do you think of? Late 20s, early 30s, maybe? Until recently, that’s what I thought too, but after having a conversation with my mom, she brought up the fact that a lot of high schoolers have tattoos now.

My mom mentioned that when she was in high school, it was very rare to see a student with tattoos. Now, everywhere you turn you see at least one student with a tattoo.

High school students should wait until after high school to get a tattoo.

Students are getting tattoos to fit in with everyone else and to be cool, but nobody should permanently alter their body based on a spontaneous thought.

Teens need to decide if a tattoo is something they really want and will like for years and years, or if they feel like they need one to fit in.

Getting a tattoo is a big commitment and should take a lot of thinking before getting one. A tattoo is permanent, and once you get one, it can be difficult to remove.

Now don’t get me wrong, tattoos are really cool and can hold a special meaning, but that same desire can be fulfilled after high school when you are sure you want to make that commitment.

Just because you have the ability to get a tattoo when you’re 18 and in high school doesn’t mean you have to right away, since a parent can even sign off for you to get one when you are 16.

On average, people’s frontal lobe doesn’t fully develop until they are 25. This is the part of the brain that controls emotions, self control and personality. So someone could easily lose interest and feel regret about a tattoo that they got before they were 25.

Now that I am older, I understand why parents always tell their children to wait until they are older to get a tattoo. It is so easy to make a naive decision just to fit in with what everyone else is doing. So before you get a tattoo, take time to consider if this is a choice that your future self will agree with.