Tattoos are a way for individuals to express themselves. Every tattoo has a story behind it or a deeper meaning. Some tattoos are a reminder of a loved one, while others are works of art for on their own. Around the halls of Hayes, it is easy to spot tattoos, both on students and staff members. Spotting people with ink has been more frequent now that tattoos have become mainstream and acceptable in social settings, like school or work.

“It was one of my younger brothers’ ideas,” math teacher Josh Hill said. “So we’ve got myself, my brother Joesph, my brother Noah and my sister Bethany.” Hill has the matching sibling tattoo on his forearm to remind him of his siblings. All of the Hill siblings have the tattoo on the same part of their arm.

“Our mom wrote the word ‘sisters’ in cursive for us in her pretty handwriting, and we went together,” English teacher Nikki Arnette said. Arnette and her sister both picked their favorite flowers out and had a sister day. Arnette chose the color of her flower to be pink, while her sister chose purple. Arnette also has a tattoo on her other arm with hearts representing members of her family.

Junior Chase Alexander got a tattoo over the summer with her mom. “A few years ago, my aunt passed away from breast cancer, and the tattoo that I got is a poppy flower, which is a symbol for remembrance. So I got that for her, and got it matching with my mom,” Alexander said. Both Alexander and her mom got in on their hips.

“It’s a bible verse that I’ve used since I was a little kid. I had it on my lacrosse stick, so I figured I would get it tattooed on me,” senior Eli Watts said. Religious-based tattoos are common to see at Hayes. Some students like their faith to be a physical reminder to themselves and others.

History teacher David Morgan got two finger tattoos when he got married. “I don’t wear jewelry, so I was not going to wear a wedding ring, so I got a tattoo. [The other tattoo] just means total, like instead of love, it means total love,” Morgan said. Along with tattoos representing his marriage, he is planning to get one on his arm.

“[This tattoo is] actually my mom’s name, her name is Tasha. I got it because she’s one of my best friends and one of the ink spots I wanted that was permanent is someone that would be with me forever, and she would,” Senior Mahkella Curtis said. Curtis got the tattoo right next to her heart, to always remind her of her mom.

Physical Education teacher Phil Carr got this tattoo fairly recently. He also has a tattoo of his college mascot on his thigh. Carr wanted this tattoo due to the art aspect. “I really enjoy the artist, and I enjoy the art,” Carr said. “It’s just meaningful to me, to just take on the world, take on the elephant, the mammoth.”

Senior Frank Mlckovsky got this tattoo with a symbol and word to remind him of stoicism. “[Stoicism] was an Ancient Greek philosophy that was centered around the fact that there is stuff in life that you can control, and there is stuff you can’t control. You shouldn’t focus on the stuff that is out of your control because it’s out of your control,” Mlckovsky said.

Amy Smock, Intervention Specialist at Hayes, got a tattoo of her wedding anniversary to match with her husband. “My husband and I both got matching tattoos, mainly so he does not forget our anniversary,” Smock said. Roman numeral tattoos have also been very popular. It keeps the meaning of the tattoo more personal.

“I got it when I was 18-years old, because my dad told me not to. It was drawn up by a friend of mine, he drew up the razor wire idea and then we put the tiger striping in it, because tigers are the king of the jungle,” math teacher Josh Lamb said. Even though Lamb’s tattoo is not super meaningful to him, the tattoo is a funny memory from his young adult years, and a story worth sharing now.