It’s a starry night in Vermont. Michael watches from afar and is shocked to say the least.

He sits in his family room in front of the fire looking over interesting ski trails for tomorrow’s day on the mountain. He looks out the window to check on his daughter Ana and her friends in the hot tub when he sees it. Ana, his youngest daughter, has a tattoo. Michael Finn, 50, is business man from Boston and is very protective and strict when it comes to his children. He feels as if he is in one of his bad dreams, only this is reality and he knows it. His youngest and only daughter has marked herself permanently, and there is nothing he can do to change it.

“Anything marking the body permanently is unhealthy.” Finn explains, “I am more against children getting tattoos rather than adults who can think clearly.”

Finn, a father of 4, has been through all the late night arguments, and teenage issues before. For example, when his 22 year old son Mark was suspended from his university because of his late night rowdy adventures. However, that situation was fixable; Mark was let back into the university and has since then graduated and now has a career in real estate. “Ana cannot go back in time and take away the tattoo,” said Finn bitterly. “She has to live with the decision she has made and I am confident that she will regret it.”

“She is only 18 years old; in my opinion people should wait until they are at least 21 to make life changing decisions on their own.”

Finn is even more outraged about the tattoo because it is so big. “There is a difference between a tattoo that is small and hidden than one that is large and in your face.” Finn says. “When a tattoo is small they won’t be judged in the future, the last thing I want for my child is there future to be affected by a stupid decision they made as a teenager.”

For Finn he has not only lost the trust of his daughter, but he has lost the trust of his ex-wife. “Even though Samantha and I are not married anymore, we are still partners in caring for our children.” Finn expressed. “We are supposed to make decisions about our children together, how do I know she is not keeping other secrets from me.”

Ana was not alone in making the decision to get a tattoo. She was greatly influenced by her older brother’s friend Chris King.

King, 22, from just south of Boston is no stranger to getting inked up.

“I got my first Tattoo in March 08 so spring of my sophomore year.” King explained. “I decided to get the word "Invictus" down the back of my right arm. I liked the spot and that you could see it in a t-shirt made me feel cooler.”

The idea to put “Invictus” on his body came from William Earnest Henley poem. The word Invictus means unconquerable in Latin.

“It matters not how strait the gate/ how charged with punishment the scroll/ I am the master of my fate/ I am the captain of my soul" This is the last stanza of the poem, this is what really moved king to get the tattoo. “That is why I got it; it really resonated with me and pretty much defined my beliefs in life.”

The fact that tattoos are permanent was not forgotten while King was getting the tattoo.

“When I first got it all I could think was holy shit I hope I don’t regret this and it comes out good.” King said. “You know it is permanent and if you don’t like it then you are screwed.”

Choosing an area of the body is very important when thinking about tattoos. The closer the tattoo is to the bone the more painful it gets. “I have a full rib piece on my left side and that was two and a half hours of pure hell. I still don't think I've ever been in that much pain before.” King said with a painful expression. “You can feel the needles bouncing off your ribs and it shakes your whole chest.”

In the end the pain is worth it. “My favorite Tattoo is easily my rib.”Said King who has Icarus from the Greek mythology falling tattooed on his side. “It is so distinctive, It was difficult to do I'm sure and it came out well.”

Values and beliefs play a large role in finding the perfect tattoo. “I have the words “Be Free” tattooed on my foot as a reminder to always be myself.” Horne Explained.

Kiley Horne, 20, a Scituate native, goes to school for physical therapy at Merrimack College while also performing as the star girl’s soccer goalie. She lets a lot of her emotions out on the field, but when she really needs an adrenalin rush she turns to tattoos.

“I got my first tattoo a week after I turned 18.” Horne said. “After the first one you think of designs and patterns and where to put them and how to do it. It truly is an addiction.”

The anticipation of getting a tattoo was not overlooked. “I was terrified it was going to hurt, and scared they were going to mess it up.” That didn’t stop Horne from getting her Celtic knot though.

In her eyes tattoos have to be meaningful. For her there is no point in getting a tattoo if it is not going to be important. However, the same can’t be said for Keirsten Stelzer.

Stelzer, 19, also a Scituate native, has five tattoos that are not all meaningful. “I have a tattoo on my foot of a nautical star that is not meaningful in anyway.” Stelzer said. “I just wanted a tattoo on my foot and I liked the design.”
This doesn’t mean she regrets her tattoo. However, she does believe you have to put a lot of thought into what you get. “You have to think about what you want for a long time, and make sure that wanting doesn’t fade away with time.”

Stelzer received her first tattoo at the young age of 16. Unlike the nautical star this tattoo holds great meaning. She has her father’s initials on the left side of her lower back. Steltzer’s father lost his battle to cancer when she was just a child, “I wanted him to be with me forever.” Stelzer explained. “It made me feel closer to him to have him remembered on my body.”

Some of Stelzer’s other tattoos are used to feel closer to people as well. Such as the tattoo she received last year on her ribs. “I got “faith” tattooed on my ribs because one of my best friends was in the hospital in critical condition after being in a car accident.” Sadly that young man never made it out; he died a week after Stelzer received her tattoo.

One of the more popular tattoos for men is the cross. It is meaningful, can express ones beliefs, and is something most people will never regret having on their body. Many men get this as there first tattoo because of those very reasons. Those were the reasons Brian Quirk received a cross as his first tattoo.

Quirk, 21, hails from Quincy, attends college at University of Massachusetts and is currently studying business. At this moment he has six tattoos and doesn’t have any plans to stop getting them.

“I got my first tattoo when I was a junior in high school, 17 years old.” Quirk explained. “I honestly don’t remember what was going through my head besides the pain.”

After the cross he wanted to get a tattoo that expressed his love and respect for his family.

“If I had to pick a favorite tattoo I would say the tattoo on my left arm,” said Quirk. “Only because it is the most meaningful compared to my other tattoos. It says family first.”

Not all people have the same love for their tattoos as King, Horne, Stelzer, and Quirk did. A lot of people tend to get tattoos on a whim, not really thinking about what they are getting. In most cases this person will end up regretting their tattoo.
Ashley Silvia, 22, graduated from Boston College with a degree in marketing. She has done everything she hoped to do while she was in college; along with some added bonuses she wish never took place.

One of those added bonuses occurred as the night was winding down one weekend. “My friends and I had been drinking when we had this sudden urge to all get tattoos.” Silvia remembers. “We knew there had to be a tattoo parlor in the city somewhere, so we went looking.”

Silvia had a hard time remembering the actual process, it could have been blocked from all the alcohol she had consumed that night, or the fact that the tattoo was so painful. “All I know is when I woke up my wrist was throbbing, and when I saw I had gotten a tattoo I cried.”

Silvia and her four other friends called themselves five star, it was there group name. The morning after five star’s adventures in the city, Silvia found the number five and a star tattooed on her wrist.

“I have never liked my tattoo, and I don’t think I ever will.” Silvia said. “I do what I can to hide it, getting that tattoo was one of the most irresponsible things I have ever done.”

Tattoos are different for everyone, they can come in different shapes, sizes, languages, and they all have different stories behind them.