Eliza Smith’s favorite tattoo, the natural symbol in music. PHOTO CREDIT: Eliza Smith
They were only supposed to last for three months.
Eliza Smith, a first-year student at the University of Rhode Island, chose to get five tattoos in high school, all when she was under 18 years old.
The only catch is, none of her tattoos come from a parlor; they were meant to be temporary. They came from where it seems everything else does: Amazon. It was a combination of a stick-and-poke kit and split-second decisions.
“I still love it because it has memories,” Smith said. “Like, why was I getting a tattoo when I still had braces?”
It was 2022; Smith was 15 years old with her two friends when one of their older sisters tattooed the Aries symbol on her “left buttcheek,” as she described. Her zodiac sign.
If you’re not familiar with stick and pokes, there is one needle being hand-pressed by a person multiple times, and pretty deep at that. She said she was fine with the level of discomfort, but I have a feeling that Smith has a pretty high pain tolerance to put up with this process four more times for her other tattoos.
After the first one, stick and pokes became somewhat of a tradition for her and her friends.
Smith’s family hosts a large Memorial Day Party every year on their farm in upstate New York, outside of Syracuse. When they had the chance, Smith and four other friends would go to her room to give each other tattoos.
“It’s kind of sweet,” Smith said. “Then my mom would be like, ‘more keep showing up!’ like once a year, and I’d be like, ‘well, cause’tis the season!’”
Aside from her Aries tattoo, Smith has a purple flower on her ribs, which comes from adolescent spontaneity rather than deep personal meaning. For Smith, the tattoos aren’t necessarily about the message they send, but about the moment and getting it with people she loves.
A friend gave her an option one time: “Grills or a tattoo?” Smith said. “And I was like, ‘OK… I don’t really want grills. So I guess I’ll get a tattoo.’”
She has two dots on her thigh, the result of a failed smiley face. Halfway through the stick and poke, she realized she didn’t want a smiley face on her body.
Her ankle bears a crown to represent her friend Sally, whose name means princess.
Her favorite tattoo, though, rests on her left ring finger: a natural symbol from a music score, inspired by a former teacher’s own natural symbol tattoo. The art helped her feel more connected to a teacher she admired and adored. This one was a solo job; she gave it to herself and said it was her least painful tattoo. Because she could poke over the tattoo multiple times with minimal pain, it turned out to be her darkest tattoo.
Though stick and pokes aren’t the most popular way to get a tattoo, it was a way for Smith to bond with her friends.
“Instead of drinking or smoking, we would give each other tattoos,” Smith said.
Her friends have walked away from those bonding moments with flame tattoos, dinosaurs and other small skin-art keepsakes. What started as something that was meant to be temporary has blossomed into some of Smith’s greatest memories from high school.
It’s probably why she isn’t upset that the “temporary” aspect of stick and pokes turned out to be false advertising.
Will she get another? Smith said that for now, she has what she wanted and hasn’t considered going to a tattoo parlor. Her stick and pokes were all she desired.
For Smith, tattoos are both art and a memory.
“There’s some stupid tattoos out there,” Smith said. “But whatever, if you like it. Boom.”
