The average person’s skin covers about two square meters. That is two square meters of blank canvas that can be altered into something to show off to friends and family. For some students at Imagine Prep Surprise, that canvas has been colored with the ink of tattoos.

Senior Antonia Lozano already has two tattoos.

“I got one in June 2016 and my second one in March 2017,” Lozano said. “The first one is my last name ‘Lozano’ on my wrist, and that’s just my last name. My second one is a dream catcher with a butterfly. My grandpa passed away {five years ago or when she was five, I need to check}. So I got it in honor of him.”

Lozano has  plans to get a few more tattoos in the future.

“Ya, I plan to get one that says ‘Hakuna Matata’, and I want to get another one to represent my grandpa, something involving Harley Davidson,” Lozano said.

Like Lozano, Senior Joseph Burtrum has a tattoo to represent his family members, the ones that have been affected by cancer.

“I was 14 when I got it in October 2014,” Burtrum said. “It’s five cancer ribbons. I have a few people in my family that have cancer, so I got it for them because cancer is bad.”

Burtrum was able to get it at an early age because his parents thought it was right.

“I got it when I was young because my nephew was diagnosed with cancer, and the time just felt right,” Burtrum said. “I was able to get it because of parental consent.”

Although Burtrum isn’t sure what to get in the future, he wants to get more tattoos.

Sophomore Gregory Holland has a tattoo for a member who had cancer as well.

“I got it done around August 2017,” Holland said. “It’s a skull with some roses, and I got it because my uncle died of stage IV liver cancer. I also plan to get a sleeve later on.”

Junior Karissa Jimenez has three tattoos so far.

“I got them in August 2017, September 2017, and October 2017,” Jimenez said. “The first tattoo I got is a heart on my wrist, and that’s a matching tattoo with my mom. The second one is my last name ‘Jimenez’ on my ankle.”

Jimenez’s  latest addition to her tattoos is a self reminder for her everyday.

“The most recent one I got is the saying ‘it’s alright’ on my arm. It’s just a self-reminder that it’s alright,” Jimenez said. “I’ve been through a lot in my life, and everyone I’ve ever went to for help has always told me ‘it’s alright no matter what, and with time everything does turn out alright.’”

Jimenez definitely wants to add to her already growing collection of tattoos.

“Oh yes. I have two in mind that I still want to get,” Jimenez said. “I want a palm tree on my thigh, because I was born in California, and I also want to get a tattoo with a heartbeat and a dog in it.”

Similar to Jimenez, junior Harmony Hartt’s first tattoo was a matching tattoo with her mom.

“I got it in September 2017,” Hartt said. “It’s an owl sitting on a tree branch. I wanted to get a matching tattoo with my mom and we got an owl because I didn’t want it to be tacky like a dove or something.”

Hartt plans to get a lot more ink in the near future.

“Absolutely, I want a clef note behind my ear, an outline of a heart on my collarbone, a quote on my back, and a drawing on both of my ankles,” Hartt said.

So whether these students got it to represent someone, or to have some artwork on their skin, their blank canvases are now masterpieces.