Getting Inked: Tattoos Making Their Mark in Oswego

Memories, addiction, decoration.  Three wildly different concepts, yet they can all take place in one simple form: tattoos.
 
People get tattoos for different reasons; in different places, shapes, forms and colors, but there is one thing they have in common: they are present at Oswego State. They can be seen running down the arm, across the knuckles, along the neck, or hidden from the plain view of employers and parents.
 
Technology education major Kitty Richard currently has four tattoos, but shh collegiettes™, don’t tell her parents before she does. She has thought about getting a tattoo since she was 15, but waited until she was 18 in order to avoid asking her parents. However, the fear of her parent’s reaction hasn’t stopped her from the ink addiction she claims to have. 
 
Her tattoos are diverse in form and location, as well as the meaning behind them.  She has a tattoo saying “always” on her foot, which she got with two friends she has known since elementary school.
 
“We always said if we made it through high school, we’re probably set for life,” says Richard.
 
The thought of permanency doesn’t seem to faze her.
 
“Even if we do end up not being friends, it’s not going to be a negative thing,” says Richard.  “It’s going to be like, ‘remember all the good times we had together?’”
 

This basis holds true for two of her other tattoos.  A tattoo up her ribs is dedicated to her grandparents.  Daisies symbolize her grandmother on her mother’s side, who always said when she died she wanted to become a daisy because they were “simple and beautiful.”  Cardinals adorn Richard’s body to symbolize her father’s mother because it is thought in the Catholic religion that cardinals represent getting into heaven.
 
“We saw two cardinals on my grandmother’s grave during the funeral too,” says Richard. “It was sort of magical.”
 
A pair of lacrosse sticks and a shamrock with the Irish colors is the newest piece to the collection, which symbolizes her grandfather’s love of Ireland and lacrosse.
 
Richard has gotten three of her four tattoos in Oswego.  She has been to Ink Haven, formerly located on 47 W. Bridge St., and Inkings, located at 171 W. 1^st St.  She praised Inkings, saying they are more than willing to talk to find out what you want.  They understand the permanency factor, and so does Richard.
 
“I woke up in the middle of the night and had a mini panic attack,” says Richard.  “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what did I just do to my body? My parents are going to kill me.’ But then I [remembered], ‘No, you wanted this, you planned it out for a really long [time].’”
 
More people are getting tattoos in more visible places, says Richard, so she does not see it having a major impact on her future employment.
 
“Before I got it, I knew I would have to wear long sleeves,” she says, referring to her tatted wrist. “I knew I would have to adjust.”
 
Not everyone in Oswego is inked, though.  Sophomore biology major Kasandra Whitney has never seriously thought about decorating her body, but she understands why people get them.
 
“I like them if they have meaning,” says Kasandra.  “I think it’s dumb to put something on your body for your entire life if it doesn’t have meaning to you.”
 
This is where Lifestyles’ Alcohol and Other Drug Coordinator Ted Winkworth disagrees. 
 
“At the end of the day, it’s just a decoration,” says Winkworth.
 
Winkworth currently has four tattoos.  A quote from Franz Kafka rests on his forearm, upside down so he is able to read it, of course.
 

“I kind of hope that if I ever become a person I don’t want to be, say I’m 60 or 70 years old, maybe I’ll catch it one day, read it and be reminded,” says Winkworth.  “It’s kind of like a message in a bottle that my 19-year-old self sent to my 60-year-old self.”
 
Richard wasn’t the only one to hide tattoos from her parents. Winkworth hid his from his mother for two years.  On finding out, she cried and refused to speak to him for a week.
 
“I think her biggest fear is that I’ll never get married and have a job,” says Winkworth.
 
Fear not mother, Winkworth is currently employed and in a steady relationship.
 
Like Richard, Winkworth understands the permanency of his tattoos.  He will have thought about his next tattoo for two or three years before he actually gets it, he says.  However, the concept of forever is still a little fuzzy to him.
 
“I don’t think your average 18, 19 or 20-year-old understands the concept of forever,” says Winkworth.  “I don’t think I even understand the concept of forever, so I guess I considered it for as much as I had the ability to.”
 
While Richard claims to have an addiction to getting inked, Winkworth doesn’t buy it.  He believes people are addicted to the attention and become self-conscious of old tattoos, which fade after about three weeks.
 
“I’ve never felt addicted to getting tattooed, it hurts,” says Winkworth.
 
This is one area where Richard and Winkworth do agree.
 
“It kind of feels like you’re being lit on fire, that is what I would imagine,” says Richard.  “As soon as they take a break it doesn’t hurt anymore, but then they start up again. It’s not unbearable, but it definitely hurts.”
 
Whether you’re addicted to the pain, feeling nostalgic, or think tattoos are just plain cool, check out to Oswego’s Inkings when considering your next mark on society.