At Westside, students proudly wear their tattoos. Whether the tats have a deep meaning or are simply for fun, these students enjoy expressing themselves through their body art.

Mia Garrett

Description: My tattoo is on my right shoulder, and there [are] the mountains first, and then it says “go live” in cursive and connected to the “e” at the end of “live” is a wave.

Inspiration: I am a very adventurous person and I’ve always wanted a tattoo of the mountains, and I also found this “go live” tattoo on Pinterest. And I figured why not combine what I want? So that’s what led me to that one, but I’ve always just wanted a tattoo just because I like art and it’s a way to express yourself.

Harper Gordman

Description: My tattoo is a Flor de Barcelona. It’s a little flower shape and it’s of a tile in Barcelona, it’s like the symbol.

Inspiration: What inspired it was when I lived abroad in Barcelona, it had a big impact on me and I always wanted to get a symbol to remind me of it.

Michael Colling

Description: My tattoo says Philippians 4:13 in cursive down my forearm. Philippians 4:13 is a verse in the bible stating “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”.

Inspiration: I have gone to church since I [was] little and this verse has always popped up and is one I read over and over because it is motivational, so I decided I wanted to look at it forever on my forearm.

Process: I tried getting my tattoo down in Arizona on vacation because it was a one-time chance, but didn’t have my birth certificate so they couldn’t do it. …It took around 20-30 mins to complete and a few days to heal but it turned out perfect.

Isabella Rinaldi

Description: The first [tattoo] I got is a little picture of my cat. Her name is Pepper, I’ve had her for about eight years and she’s just really awesome and I just wanted to have her on my body forever to remind me of her. The second one is a simple rose, and I just thought it was cute, so I was like, why not?

Inspiration: [I wanted to get the tattoos because] I wanted to decorate my body. Tattoos, they’ve gotten more acceptable over time, but at the end of the day it’s just a way to decorate your body and they’re just really cool.