Pictured: “Hang loose” tattoo on Whitney VanLoon’s ankle. Photo Contributed by: Dylan Hubbard
Fourth-year nursing student Whitney VanLoon, despite having numerous tattoos of differing meanings, says one of her favorite tattoos is a “hang loose sign,” as she puts it, on her ankle.
The hang loose sign depicts the common symbol of a hand with the thumb and pinky extended and the other three fingers closed into the fist. One also might think of it as the sign your hand makes when you want to depict talking on the phone.
While one reason for getting that symbol specifically has to do with the fact that she enjoys being by the beach, that is not the main reason she wanted it permanently engraved on her body.
“This is something to remind you to just chill,” VanLoon said. Seeing as how VanLoon is not only a college student but a nursing student, it makes sense that having that mindset is important to her.
His other tattoos include a playing card on her wrist, the coordinates of a house she lived in while staying with a few friends in Narragansett on her side, a wave on her shoulder, a “Hi Neighbor” sticker design on her lower back and a stick and poke on her heel.
“I’m in healthcare, and in the beginning, when I was starting school, it was kind of something that you used to have to cover up,” VanLoon said about having to get most of her tattoos in hidden places because of her work. However, she still takes great pride in all of her ink, especially her hang-loose.
VanLoon got it at the now-closed Shades of Sunderland Tattoo & Body Piercing which used to reside in The University of Rhode Island’s Emporium. It is the only tattoo she got shaded, which was a suggestion by the artist who gave it to her.
“This is probably the most detailed one that I have,” VanLoon said.
Another large aspect of her tattoos is the sense of freedom they instilled in her. All five of her tattoos were etched into her skin within the span of a year between 2018 and 2019 when she was 21-22, and, similar to many people, she tried to keep them a secret from her parents.
“My mom didn’t want it, and I think that’s also maybe why I started with ones that were hidden as well…I could hide them away,” VanLoon said.
She also waited until she was in Rhode Island for school before getting them, stating that it was the first thing she could do now that she was old enough to sign the papers herself.
“It was definitely something I wanted when I was younger, like, in my teens, and I knew it was something my mom would not be okay with, so it was something that I was really excited to do,” VanLoon said.
Regardless of where her tattoos are or how big or detailed they are, she believes that the more hidden ones have more meaning.
Although the tattoo itself is small, its meaning and its impact on Whitney VanLoon are not.
“It reminds me of being by the beach, and it reminds me to just kind of chill and relax,” VanLoon said.
She said this is a way of thinking that all college students, regardless of year, age or major, should subscribe to. It always helps if you try to take a step back and hang loose.