For Christmas and most of his birthdays, senior Attilio Illiano usually doesn’t want anything. What he really wants and what he will save up to treat himself for, is to add more tattoos onto his body. As of right now, Illiano has two tattoos, one on his right forearm and the other on his rib cage extending down to his hips. Illiano received his first tattoo when he was 14 years old, after being inspired by the multiple tattoos his father has. Not only is he interested in the actual art of tattoos, but Illiano is also someone who likes to draw, which influences what designs and flows he wants to get on his skin.

“I choose the style and the meaning of my tattoos, but the artist does the design. Of course you talk to them and say, ‘I want this one to look this way or that one to look that way… Every single tattoo has a meaning, every single one you put together has a certain meaning,” Illiano said.

Illiano has traveled to places such as Fredericksburg and Woodstock just to make sure he goes to the right tattoo artist. While the most recent tattoo Illiano has gotten was in February of  2017, the thought processes he goes through before getting a tattoo is crucial to him.

“I’m somebody that doesn’t go to a friend that [can do] tattoos… I’m somebody that spends $200 an hour for a tattoo. When I go, I actually know what I’m getting. A lot of people go to their friends and they have emojis on their arms, and it doesn’t look good, and it gets infected, and it’s just not right,” Illiano said.

Because Illiano won’t turn 18 until August, getting his parents to sign a form allowing him to get a tattoo is required, but in some cases depending on the shop, getting parental consent isn’t required. Once he does turn 18, Illiano plans on finishing the rest of his right arm and bringing the design onto the right side of his chest. Illiano plans to get his next tattoo at Alley Cat Tattoo. According to Illiano, getting used to the feeling of getting a tattoo is not something that happens often.

“You don’t get used to it because every part of your body has a different feeling. For example, my arm has a different feeling, it hurts less. When I got my side [tattoo], it hurt more because it’s my ribcage and my hip, and that’s the worst because it really hurt,” Illiano said.

As a cashier and assistant manager at New York style restaurant Tutti Gusti, spending hundreds of dollars just to get an ink design onto his skin is well worth the cost. When Illiano gets a job that he plans on staying with and considers a “real job”, adding a tattoo on his left leg or thigh, side of his neck or on his hands is one of his goals.

“The way I see it, all tattoos are in contact with you skin. It’s a commitment to your life, so you want to remember it. It’s just a design on your body that stays there forever. It’s something you have to think about because it’s going to stay there for a long time,” Illiano said.