The body is a canvas waiting to be filled. Many students choose to do so in different ways to express their individuality. Tattoos are a way that students can express themselves in school and in life. It is a permanent way to put your message in the world, commemorate a meaningful moment, or connect yourself with someone you love forever.

Students get tattoos for many reasons: significance, memorial, or just plain rebellion. It makes them stand out and helps them express their individuality.

Senior Beth Petrunak said, “[Having a tattoo] makes me feel really special because I have something on my body that I think is really cute and is different from everybody else.”

Tattoos are considered cool in today’s society. Many young people, like the students of CHS, get tattoos to look cool or be popular, but tattoos are much more than that.

“It’s like my little secret,” said Petrunak.

Many other students chose to decorate themselves through piercings: earlobe, conch, cartilage, eyebrow, nose, tongue, lip, belly-button, and gauge. All different types of piercings make a person individual and unique. Piercings give people the opportunity to show off their style. Though it is more likely for girls to get piercings, many boys decide to express themselves in this way.

One the most common piercings is the earlobe piercing, but some people decide to pierce their earlobes the whole way up to their cartilage.

“I got piercings because I want to be different from others and I really like the look of them,” said Maria Brown, a freshman that currently has seven piercings, three on each earlobe and a cartilage piercing.

People also decide that they want to show their differences and get piercings elsewhere on their face, stomach area, and even in other unusual places. The options of jewelry for piercings are endless, allowing people to become creative and show themselves through different ways.

There are so many different combinations of piercings available that everyone can have something completely different. Piercings are definitely a popular, quick, and easy way to express their individuality.

For those who aren’t a fan of needles, hair dye is a great way to express yourself. Hair dye, a colorful way to show individuality, is another popular choice among high school students. From brightly colored hair to a more natural look, anyway you may choose to dye your hair can be seen as an expression of yourself.

Last year, sophomore Alyna Rice-Media dyed her hair blue, but this year decided to change it after choosing to have a new outlook on life.

“The red makes me feel as if I am changing not just my appearance but the way I think,” said Rice-Media.

The color that someone chooses to dye their hair can have a deeper meaning and having the option to express that is important.

The Carlisle High School Student Handbook states, “Students have a responsibility to be well groomed and appropriately dressed for school.”

However, it then continues with “hairstyles and styles of clothing are matters of individual taste.”

This allows students to have the freedom to express themselves through their own individual taste in their hairstyle. Individuality can be shown through many forms. Hair dye is just one way to vibrantly stand out from the crowd.

Individuality is something that is important to everyone. The best way to express is to do it confidently.