Your high school classmates forever may remember you with braces and a unicorn Trapper Keeper, but in college, you get to start out again with a blank slate. What better way to establish your new persona than a tattoo?
"Trends tend to follow the TV, the pop-culture media," said Joshua Crain, owner of Think Ink Tattoos in Norman, which sees a lot of college students.
Memory Lawrence has four tattoos and will be returning to college to finish up her fashion marketing degree this fall at the University of Central Oklahoma.
"I'm not really worried about student body perception, because I think most people college-age have at least one or don't think ill of people that do have them," Lawrence said. "It seems like they're for all walks of life now. I'm a little worried about the professors. I'm not sure they'll take me too seriously."
CUSTOMIZATION
Crain said that he's seen a higher demand for larger, more elaborate work. He prefers every tattoo to have a custom element to it, rather than just tracing Tasmanian Devils and butterflies all day long. But, customized pieces cost more.
"College kids can be impulsive, but they also have a lot of other things to pay for like books, hair gel and stuff," Crain said. "Sometimes I'll look at the guy and ask, 'Is this going to make you broke?' We can piece together a tattoo, though. Do a little bit now and finish it up next semester." "Charles Martin
