I would say that I dress like most of my peers. I usually dress according to trends that are popular and get most of my fashion ideas from my friends. I think that most of my friends dress in clothes that are fashionable and flattering and I try to model my own dress code after them because of this. I love to dress up for more formal events and enjoy looking feminine in fun clothes.  My friends and I hold ourselves to high standards in school work, jobs, and relationships. We do our best in all situations and I believe that our fashion choices also represent this. I do not have any tattoos, and only a few of my friends have tattoos. These tattoos are all in places that are easily covered by clothes and jewelry in order to be sure that job opportunities in the future are not lost due to biases against tattoos. In addition, very few of my friends have outstanding body piercings. I know a few people who have multiple ear piercings in their cartilage, but very few of my peers choose to have facial piercings. I have a piercing in my belly button, as do a few of my friends. As of right now, I would not get any other piercings because I do not want to do anything that could hurt my chances of getting a professional job in the future. I think that my friends and I all influence each other’s choices in body modification like tattoos and piercings because we all have similar beliefs that body modification should be done sparingly.

My family is relatively conservative.  Nobody in my immediate or extended family has any tattoos or body piercings.  Everyone tends to think that getting tattoos is somewhat taboo, or unacceptable in our family. In addition, my parents believe that we should not alter our bodies in ways that cannot be undone. I don’t have any strong opinions about tattoos, but I think that they can be flattering. I have thought about getting a tattoo before, however, I think it would be something I regret doing. Currently, there is nothing important enough to me that I want to look at it on my body for the rest of my life. My family values hard work and dedication to family and friends. They are a huge influence on the way I choose to dress and represent myself. I understand that people form opinions about others immediately upon seeing the way that people dress and adorn themselves, and I wouldn’t want anyone in my family to judge me negatively because of any body adornments.

Over the years, I have become much more accepting of body ornamentation such as tattoos and body piercings. As I’ve grown up, more and more people I know have decided to get these things done and I’ve become used to it. In the area that I grew up, young people would get tattoos without telling their parents because most parents held beliefs similar to those of my parents. I used to be surprised when people would get tattoos because of the conservative nature of my family and neighborhood, however, I feel that tattoos have become much more common in popular culture. They seem to have broken through to mainstream culture now, whereas they used to be much less common. Perhaps it only seems this way to me because more people choose to get them as they get older and I am around many more people with tattoos now.

I believe that I make the choices I do because of the way I’ve been raised. I feel that families always have a huge impact on the choices people make in their lives and that I am no exception. I have branched from my family somewhat in that I think tattoos can actually really look nice on people, even though I would likely still never get one. In addition, I do have a belly piercing and my parents accepted this because it is not seen by anybody. In high school I got my ear cartilage pierced, which my parents never liked. It was something I thought looked fine, but chose to take out after a couple of years. My parents have always tended to let me choose all my clothes for myself and I feel that this has helped me to develop self confidence and independence. I am sure that my thoughts and feelings about body ornamentation will continue to develop throughout the years as I get older and as trends change.