Tattoo Compare and Contrast

As I grow older I find myself slowly filling my skin with tattoos telling a story of my life. My parents have a different view on the portraits and designs I have permanently drawn on me than I do. They think they are ugly and have no purpose being on my body and are repulsed every time that they see them. My parents grew up in a Jewish household and have been taught that one who gets tattoos is committing a crime against their body by defacing it for eternity. However, in the generation that I have grown up in, tattoos have become a way to express yourself. I look at my tattoos as artwork and my body is essentially a living, breathing, walking canvas. The ink that I have tells a story of struggle, strengths, and weaknesses. My parents look at it as an irresponsible decision that I will regret down the road. Growing up in different generations, my parents have a completely different view on my tattoos than I do. I currently have four pieces that mesh into two larger pieces. On my left arm there is a demon surrounded by cherry blossoms, and there is also a geisha holding a fan covering half of her face. The cherry blossoms indicate a new beginning surrounding my inner demon and the geisha represents inner beauty and outer beauty. On my right arm there is a samurai mask depicting my strong side and also an octopus expressing my ability to adapt to tough situations that approach me. This is my way of expressing the struggles and conflict in my life, while also expressing strengths and joys. My parents believe that if I wanted to express those emotions that I should write a book or speak about it. They grew up in a generation where tattoos were not popular and the only people that got them were sailors and people in the military. But the tattoos have meaning to me, deep meaning. I will remember what they represent for the rest of my life and they will never lose their meaning to me. People are likely to see more tattoos on the generation that I am