Junior Nicole Williams is used to people staring at her arm. No, it’s not horribly disfigured, and no, it’s not scarred. Williams is one of a group of Grady students who have tattoos. Hers is a prominent band encircling her arm and crossing feathers design on her upper arm.

“I got my tattoo because it’s Native American, like me,” Williams said. “I wanted something to show my culture and heritage.”

Williams got all three tattoos without her parents’ permission or knowledge.

“I tried to keep them [tattoos] a secret,” Williams said, “but it didn’t work out so well.”

Senior Emily Ferris has two tattoos, one of a group of birds, and one “A” in the script of the Atlanta Braves baseball team.

“I saw somebody who had the Atlanta A, and I really liked that,” Ferris said. “The birds, literally I saw it and thought it was cool, and so I got it.”

Senior Demetrius McNeal had a slightly different reason for getting a tattoo of his initials on the back of his arms.

“My friends thought I wasn’t going to get one,” McNeal said. “So I went first, because I had to prove them wrong.”

Both Ferris and Williams would not reveal where they had gotten their tattoos from, as tattooing a minor (any person under 18) is classified as a misdemeanor crime in Georgia. McNeal, however, said a guy who lives down the street from him tattooed him and his friends at his house.

Ben Thomas’s interest in tattoo art started while he was in prison, and after getting out, he got a job as an artist at Liberty Tattoo, on Ponce de Leon avenue. He said that Liberty Tattoo will not tattoo minors.

“Some other places in the area will do it [tattoo minors] though,” Thomas said. “But we’re like, pretty legit over here.”

Regardless of the legality, tattoos are popular decorations.

“Yeah, the popular stuff is usually a bummer,” Thomas said. “I’ll still do it, but it’s mostly like walk-ins, who typically want like a bird silhouette, some script on the wrist or like, an infinity symbol.”

Thomas says he wishes that some of the cooler tattoos he has done were more popular.

“My favorite pieces are usually larger. I did a great sleeve [full arm] design on my ex-girlfriend,” Thomas said. “Unfortunately it was on my ex-girlfriend.”

But what is most important about getting a tattoo is the relationship with the artist.

“Most people find an artist whose work they like,” Thomas explained. “Being comfortable with your artist is kinda a key thing. It’s like when chicks go to get their hair done, you have to be comfortable with the person. Getting a tattoo can already be an unpleasant experience so that can just make it worse.”

Grady Teacher Brian Leahy agrees. Leahy has 13 tattoos, all of which he got in the past four years.

“I have a couple of good friends who are tattoo artists,” Leahy said. “So having a good relationship with the artist makes sense, but it can also backfire. Some of my friends will try and make it hurt a little more than it usually would.”

While many people have tattoos, the reasons for getting their individual tattoos differ.

“Most people think that the A tattoo is just for the braves,” Ferris said. “It’s basically to just represent my city. It’s where I’m from, I’m pretty much obsessed with Atlanta, and I want to live here for the rest of my life.”

Leahy had many reasons for getting his multiple tattoos.

“My first tattoo was to commemorate the Grady Mock Trial team winning the Empire Competition in 2011,” Leahy said. “Some tattoos are for superstition, some represent the different places I’ve lived, one is kind of an ode to my favorite sports team, the Buffalo Sabres and another is an Irish historical saying, meaning ‘Our Day Will Come’. There’s a number of them that have different meanings to me.”

McNeal says that he was very careful with his tattoo choice.

“You’re gonna get something that means something,” McNeal said. “It’s gonna be there forever, so you don’t want to get anything to play around with.”

Williams said that her tattoos are special because they represent permanently something about her that will never change.

“I wanted something permanent,” Williams said. “Something that would always remind me of my history.”