BY MIJAI LEWIS and JALEEL HOGAN / VN STAFF WRITERS
A tattoo is a work of art that can symbolize something significant to a person.
People use their bodies as canvases in order to display these significant pieces of art with the world.
Sophomore basketball player Ed Carter has a Jesus portrait inked on his right forearm.
“I grew up in a very religious home,” Carter said. “I feel like this tattoo that I have of Jesus on my arm is a representation of my beliefs and my family.”
The tattoo is a tribute to his late grandmother, who took him to church regularly and greatly impacted his life, he said.
Another student-athlete, Jordyn Beam, a member of the women’s lacrosse team, also has a tattoo with a deeper meaning.
Beam’s tattoo is located on the back of her neck. It shows three sets of roman numerals.
“These roman numerals are a representation of my three siblings and their birth dates,” Beam explained.
She spoke about the distance between her and her siblings, who live back in her hometown of Orangeville, Canada.
“Being away from my siblings can be tough, but by having this tattoo it reminds me they are always with me and gives me a little piece of home,” Beam continued.
Detroit Mercy senior Dominic Turcott also has a tattoo that has personal significance.
Turcott’s tattoo is on his shoulder. It is an image of an exotic fish.
“I just love fishing, man. I have been fishing ever since I could remember and now that I my own fishing platform I felt it has become my lifestyle,” Turcott explained.
For some others, though, the appeal of a tattoo is about appearance.
Junior basketball player Gracie Roberts has a tattoo of angel wings on her forearm – just because she likes it.
“I really have no meaning behind this tattoo, but I liked the look of it and decided to go for it, and now I love it,” said Roberts.
She added that she sees herself getting more in the future.
Graduate transfer student-athlete Roschon Prince has several tattoos on his chest and torso area. Some hold meaning, others are for looks.
Prince said that he has over 20 different tattoos on his chest and stomach.
“I just felt it was the trend in Long Beach, California, because of the weather and everyone having their shirts off,” Prince said. “I wanted to follow along with the trend, but also express the person that I am through the art on my body.”
Kameron Chatman, a basketball player, has two tattoos that are his favorite.
They are on his inner arms. On one is the word “sacrifice” in cursive; on the other, “success.”
“I got the tattoo my sophomore year of college,” he said.
The total cost was $125.
Junior Eryn Hearns’ favorite tattoo is on her front left shoulder. It says “III of VIII.”
“It’s supposed to represent me being the third grandchild out of eight because we’re really close,” said Hearns, noting that her oldest cousin always refers to them by number.
Also, her granny is always talking about the number of grandkids she has.
Hearns got the tattoo the day before her 20th birthday.
“It cost freaking $50, which was way too much to be honest,” she said.
Her mom didn’t mind if she got it, but her dad was a little mad because she told him after the fact.
She would like to get a tattoo on her back.
Ashley Miller, a sophomore who plays basketball at Detroit Mercy, has her mom’s and heat their identical “L” middle initials.
“My grandma passed before I was born but I still feel close to her,” she said.
It was her first tattoo. She added another with Bible verse, Romans 12.
“I live by the whole chapter but my favorite verse is verse two: ‘Be not conformed to the ways of the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ ”
Jhayla Mosley, a junior, has her grandma’s favorite Bible verse as a tattoo: “Walk by faith not by sight.”
She was 17 when she got it.
“It only took like 30 minutes,” she said. “It still is visible and I want to get it touched up and add some more around it.”
Freshman Krishna Perry recently got a tattoo of her little brother’s name on her ankle.
“I basically raised him,” she said. “He is really close to me and I love him to death.”
Perry said that her peers approved of the $45 tattoo, and it took only 10 minutes.
And, yes, it did hurt.
Even when she numbs it with spray, it still hurts, she said.
