Tattoos are all around campus; whether you can see them or not, they are there. Tattoos are a  way many people express themselves. Whether you get them for a true meaning or just for fun, they all have a story. 

Junior Lauren Fisher was 16-years-old when she got her first tattoo. She now has 18 tattoos and is planning on getting more. 

“My first tattoo is on my right bicep, and it says, ‘no day but today’ in honor of the first movie I saw in theaters,” Fisher said. 

Fisher says that a majority of her tattoos have a personal meaning behind them except one. 

“My first big tattoo is the flowers and pocket watch on my forearm. I got it in honor of my grandpa, who passed away back in 2009, and it was the time he passed. It is also the pocket watch he gave me. [A] majority of my tattoos have meaning, except for the DoodleBob [from SpongeBob] on my ankle,” Fisher said.

Fisher’s first four tattoos were done in Omaha, Neb. She also had one done in Texas, and the rest were done in the Des Moines area. Fisher said that her favorite tattoos are her puzzle piece in honor of her best buddy in high school, who is autistic, and her DoodleBob tattoo because it represents her.

Getting tattoos is something that Fisher thoroughly enjoys doing but has spent a lot of time and money on.

“Including tips, I have probably spent about $2,000 on my tattoos and around nearly 30 or more hours in a tattoo chair,” she said. 

Fisher already has her next tattoo planned out. 

“I want to finish my sleeve and get the saying ‘I heard you die twice, once when they bury you in the grave and the second time is the last time somebody mentions your name,’” Fisher said.

Junior Carina Covington, on the other hand, only has one tattoo. Her tattoo says “this too shall pass” with an arrow.

Covington said she got the tattoo as a self-reminder. 

“I have struggled with mental health my entire life, and having the quote ‘this too shall pass’ serves as a great reminder for me,” she said. 

She said the arrow in her tattoo also has a meaning. 

“There is also an arrow with the quote that symbolizes moving forward. You cannot shoot an arrow without first pulling it back,” Covington said.

Covington got her tattoo done in Lincoln, Neb., and is planning on getting another tattoo in the future. She said that she is planning on her next tattoo to be a butterfly with flowers.

Many more people on Simpson College’s campus have tattoos. Tattoos are something that many students invest lots of time, effort and money in.