Ava Smithey ’23

Ava Smithey ’23 got her tattoo dedicated to her grandma. “Ever since I was little, my grandma called me her sweet one,” Smithey said. When her grandma wrote her a handwritten letter for her 15th birthday ending with those three words, Smithey knew she wanted to get it tattooed.

“I got it on my ribs which I had heard was one fo the most painful spots, so I was mentally prepared for the worst pain,” Smithey said. She read that it “felt like a bad cat scratch on a bad sunburn” and Smithey agreed that it felt like that. When it comes to stigma, Smithey believes it is on the decline with new generations. “I think this generation is for the most part very open to it,” said Smithey.