Tattoos are the rawest form of human expression; they are the physical representation of a current state of being. Although the beauty of a tattoo is extremely important, the meaning behind the piece is the most significant aspect. No matter how ugly it is, if a tattoo has meaning, each time you look at it, you will be filled with the memories of the tattoo.

That is exactly how I feel about my first tattoo. I got a geometric cat on my ribs in June as a sort of spur-of-the-moment decision. It would appear strange to a lot of people, but to me it brings up memories of my best friend and I driving home after a weekend away. On the drive home, we came to the realization that we would both be leaving for college in a few months and didn’t know when we would see each other again. We had discussed getting our tattoos together since we first met doing a project over the chemistry of tattoos, so we did. That night, we both got geometric tattoos. My silly cat tattoo may not mean anything to anyone else, but to me it’s a reminder of our friendship and all the fun we had in high school.

Three months later, I got the itch to get another tattoo. Many people can attest to the fact that tattoos are addicting. Once you have one, all you’ll think about is your next, and anything could be a potential tattoo idea. In my case, however, I put more thought into my second tattoo than the first. The two lines on my back read “Home is wherever I’m with you” in my mother’s handwriting. This tattoo means more to me than I could ever say in words. The line itself comes from the song “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros; it epitomizes my struggle with being an expat kid and never having a set home. The band is one of my favorites, “Home” being my least favorite song however. This tattoo reminds me of how hard my mom worked to make sure each new house felt like home.

The process of getting a tattoo is what I get asked about the most. “Did it hurt?” is the common question. Of course it hurt! Some people with tattoos will lie to you and say they didn’t feel it, in which case they should see a doctor for potential nerve damage, because getting a tattoo is literally having a needle stab you millions of times to create a beautiful work of art. Every second of pain is worth it in the end. Tattoos allow us to customize our skin to tell the unique stories of our lives. We already customize everything from cell phones to hair to cars; why not customize our bodies?

Follow Cassie on Twitter @cassie__cotton