Turning 18 is a huge deal for teenagers as it sparks the beginning of a new chapter in ones life. In the eyes of America, you’re finally legal. One of the things you can do after becoming legal is getting a tattoo. Like many other teens, senior Bella Sanchez had the same idea of getting a tattoo the day after her 18th birthday. On October 10, Bella and her mom went to get matching tattoos. A lot of though as put into not only the design but the placement as well, “I chose the outside of my arm as the place for my first tattoo because it can be seen but also be covered up if needed,” Sanchez responded with. Since it was her first one, they decided to go more on the minimalistic side regarding the design, “My tattoo design is a super minimal small bouquet of flowers. me and my mom decided to make the flowers as my birth flower (cosmos), her birth flower (daises), and my sisters birth flower (waterlily). It’s a really small one black line tattoo!” Bella prefers the meaning in simplicity and it really shows in her tattoo design. When asked what design they chose together and why, Bella answered with, “Me and my mom chose this design to always have something that reminds us of each other. We

wanted something minimalistic and more on the small side. To make it a bit more personal, we decided to use our birth flowers. My mom used to say that, “there’s no flowers without rain” so it’s also something to remind me that even though we may go though hard times, happy ones are coming.” Instead of a meaningless tattoo, a lot of thought and preparation ran through Bella’s mind as she didn’t want to get one just because she could.

This correlates with why and when Bella first decided she wanted a tattoo, “With the passing of my grandpa, i was going through. hard time on my 17th birthday last year. We came up with the idea for the tattoo to represent that the hard times don’t last forever and eventually, you will experience happiness again.” This tattoo, occupies a special place in her heart and it will forever continue too. For the rest of her life, Bella will look down at her tattoo and constantly be reminded of better things to come.