Markings

This semester, several of my students have marked themselves with tattoos. A nineteen year old girl got the Hebrew word "mercy" tatooed on the inside of her wrist. The Hebrew root of the word is the same as that for womb, so the tattoo is a reminder of the strength of her own body, as well as of God's mercy. Nice.
Her boyfriend got "love your enemies" in Greek written around his wrist. Two women went to a tattoo shop together and one had "yes." tatooed on the inside of her wrist (a sign of new openness to life, I assume, she was somewhat embarrased to talk about it with me...)the other received a simple brown circle. The circle represents the Native American view of life as circular, encompassing all. Another young women, who looks like she stepped right out of the 1940's, had a vintage rose tattooed on her right shoulder.
Part of me is envious of them, of their ability to decide on something which will be part of their body for the rest of their life. There's a certainty behind their actions, a willingness to mark themselves with something that's meaningful to them today, and may not be tomorrow. Or perhaps they assume these tattoos will always have the same meaning to them that they have today.
I've wanted a tattoo for at least 4 years. I promised myself a tattoo for my 30th birthday, in 2002. But I've never been able to settle on something that I think I can live with for the next 50 years or so. I've thought about a honey bee, which is the meaning of my name in Greek. I've almost committed to a Christian symbol that would mark the one thing I'm the most certain about (whatever that means...). I considered making up a symbol, the meaning of which could change with me. Of course I thought of tattooing my husband's name on my rear, just to be cute and kind of sexy. Or my daughter's name to maybe prove to her when she's an ungrateful, whiny teenager that SEE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I MARKED MYSELF FOR LIFE WITH YOUR NAME!And I've considered just doing something pretty on one or two of my feet so I'd have something nice to look down at in the summertime.
However, I have yet to make a decision. Am I afraid of what people will think of my choice? Am I afraid that at age 75, if I decide my tattoo wasn't such a hot idea, I'll fall into despair? Is my self-concept that fragile? Am I just not certain about anything enough to put it on my body? I think it's more complicated, or at least more nuanced than any of those questions, but again, I'm wondering why these college students can take a leap of faith that I can't.
And what do I make of the guy who apparently marched into a tattoo parlor and declared his certain, unswerving love of (of all things), New Jersey??? (I originally hail from Jersey, and am pretty certain it IS the best state in the US, maybe he's onto something...)