Junior Nikki Grundy walked into a tattoo parlor in Indiana two days before her 17th birthday.

“It was an hour drive,” said Grundy. “I was freaking out the whole drive.”

Grundy said she knew getting a permanent tattoo was something to take into careful consideration. At first, her parents quickly shot down her request last year on her 16th birthday. By creating a list of pros and cons of getting a tattoo, Grundy emphasized that her decision was “not just spur of the moment.”

Grundy was aware that her parents wanted to make sure she was taking her decision seriously. “In the end, it’s my body,” Grundy said, adding that she will deal with the consequences if she does not like the tattoo.

Eventually, Grundy’s parents gave her permission to get a tattoo.

The tattoo is a paw print, and according to Grundy, it is also conveniently small enough to be hidden when needed.

“I know that I will always be working with animals or have a passion for animals in one way or another, even if it’s just having a ton of pets,” said Grundy. “They’ll always be important to me.”

Grundy said the thought of how much the tattoo was going to hurt made her stomach clench.

According to sophomore April Villalon, the pain level of getting a tattoo was also on her mind when she walked in the tattoo parlor. Villalon got her tattoo in January. She even googled how much getting a tattoo hurts. Contradicting the results of her online searches, Villalon said that it did not hurt at all, much to her pleasant surprise.

Physical Education instructor Ryan Dul said he was nervous getting his first tattoo at the age of 18, but was not scared.

“I’ve always known that I’ve wanted to get a tattoo,” said Dul. “I don’t regret either of the tattoos I do have.”

One of his tattoos is of a gymnast and the other is a tree with his family members’ initials. Dul said he got the second tattoo when he was 22 after his family helped him through a tough time.

Villalon’s tattoo is an image of the chemical structure of serotonin, what she calls “the happy chemical.”

Villalon was once prescribed medicine containing serotonin when her own levels were down. Now, serotonin is not just medicine, but a reminder to achieve happiness.

“Whenever I feel low, I’m just like, ‘Oh, I’ve gone through so much and I can push through this,’” Villalon said.

Both Grundy and Villalon had positive feedback and support from their friends who knew they were getting tattoos.

Although Grundy knows there will be people who think of her differently because of her tattoo, she said she does not care.

“If they don’t like me for having tattoos, then they don’t like me for [someone] that I [want to] be,” said Grundy. “It’s who I am.”

Already, people have asked Grundy what her future kids will think about their mother having a tattoo. Grundy responded saying that she will want her kids to see that she did not let other people make her second-guess her decisions. Grundy said that even if she does not like the design of her tattoo later on, she will be reminded of the time when she was her own person.

When Villalon is older, she said that she thinks she will still like her tattoo as a reminder of her high school years.

“I’m really sentimental, so I like looking back on things,” Villalon said.

Grundy and Villalon know that the tattoos they get will stay on their bodies forever, but they also know it was something they wanted.

“By the time I was getting it, I wasn’t nervous,” said Grundy. “I was ready.”