VOL. 05, NO. 20, May 04, 2012 (Baishakh 22, 2069)]

Shradha Gyawali

Tattoos are back as the latest fad of our generation. It has become a norm to see someone different sporting fresh new ink every week.

But what is the real motive behind every spot of the ink? Is it to tell a story? Or to fit in and conform to the trend? Whatever the reasons, are people really thinking it all the way through?

One of my friends, Emma Johnson, 22, said, “In college, we all were up one night talking about how cute it would look to go get one on our wrists that looked like a bracelet. Three hours later we were all there.”

“I love the tattoo and the memory behind it. I just wish I would have thought about it more,” said Johnson. “Now for every job or professional experience, I need to make sure I have a watch on or a bracelet that covers it, or a long sleeve shirt.”

So what do you do if you have to hide your tattoo all the time? The following are some different tattoo removal options that vary in price range.

Laser Removal

Laser removal is the most common form of tattoo removal. You are charged per square inch per two minutes. The procedure is painful, and you will be sore for up to two weeks.

The removal needs, on average, around 6-8 sessions. This can run your bill up to $800 for a small tattoo and double for a large one. Every removal quote is based on size, color and how long have you had the tattoo.

Dermabrasion

Another option is Dermabrasion- a surgery performed by a plastic surgeon where a rotating abrasion brush sands away the tattoo, eventually peeling the tattoo off. The surgery has high risks for scarring. In most cases of Dermabrasion, you need to have a skin graft to cover where the skin is removed.

The procedure normally takes fifteen minutes but can go for hours depending on the size of the tattoo and how deep the ink is. Your skin will be tight and sore for a month or two but the tattoo will be removed in one sitting.

It can cost $100 for a small tattoo but the procedure can run up to $4,000 for large tattoos.

Excision Removal

Another way to remove tattoos is excision removal. This procedure is done by a plastic surgeon as well. They cut the tattoo out of your skin and sew the skin back together, removing the tattoo in one piece. It can take up to multiple sessions depending on how big the tattoo is and how deep it is. When considering excision, be aware of the scar that it will leave.

This procedure is not a cheap one. It starts off at around $700 for 2 inch by 4 inch area, and every removal after that is $150.

Cream Removal

The last way is the removal that is done by using a cream. The most popular cream is Wrecking Balm. This is a fade system that can take months, but it is a quick and an easy way to do it on your own.

The cream is about $150 depending on where you buy it from, but be careful with the cream-- it can discolor your skin because of the ingredients that are put into it.

Other Options

If you are thinking of getting one removed, your best option is to do a research and get many different opinions from different places and surgeons.

Explore what is best for you.

If getting it removed is not in the budget, and you don’t really want it removed, there are always ways to cover it although sometimes it can be hard. They make tattoo cover-up makeup and silicone sleeves to hide tattoos, but the summer or a hot room can be a problem. Sweating can smudge the makeup, and the sleeves can be too hot to bear.

On the other hand if you are thinking of getting a tattoo, think before you ink. Is it going to affect you in the long run? Or is it really what you want? A tattoo removal can be a $1000 fix for a $100 mistake.

She Started, No He Started

By ADITI ARYAL

I was working on my assignment when my brother asked me to help him with something. Knowing that helping him is equivalent to ending up doing the entire work on my own, I asked him to come to me later. I guess he figured out later was never, so he deleted my hard work and saved the blank page. Now I was back to square one, and honestly could do nothing but cry.

At first, I thought his intention of doing so was to get back at me for not helping him. In reality, his mind had a better plot. When my parents got home, the first thing he did was complain to them that I didn’t help him even while I was sitting idle. And because I had no backup to prove my innocence I had been a victim of his wicked plans, even if it had been for a short time. Both his temper and mine made the situation worse than it already was and after some time everything got back to normal. If this is what people call ‘sibling rivalry’, this isn’t a very good thing to happen to anybody even with the happy ending.

Rivalry among siblings is a very common situation in many families. In most cases, it starts with the birth of the second child. When all attention starts diverting from the only child to the second, jealousy springs in. This gives way to acts meant to hurt the other and possibly homicidal ideas as well. There also exist reasons like the elder ones always being asked to compromise, because they become big and mature right from the day when their baby sibling, who never grows up, is born. Or alternatively, also because family members don’t understand the differences. They constantly bring up issues to compare each other. In the long run such factors deteriorate the situation.

If not immediately after the birth of a sibling, it does start at a very young age, mine included. However, lesser the age difference, tougher the competition. In kids’ run to prove self better than the other, have the last piece of the cake and get the other one to fetch the ball from the rude neighbor’s garden, things do get complicated. The young undeveloped mind starts to find ways about being the better one in front of everybody. Notwithstanding how this competition could take a better turn and get everybody to be equally fine and polished, this isn’t a ‘more often than not’ case. In most cases this ends up in a bitter relationship throughout childhood and youth and follows later in life (afterlife as of horror movies). To mention, this is one reason among some others why children like school better than home and friends better than siblings.

I wouldn’t say rivalry doesn’t exist among friends. Considering closely, how much long is a rival-for-a-friend to stay in our lives? Siblings are the first friends we make in life and probably the only ones who’ll stick up for a very long time. And most of the times rivalry accompanies the bonding. Taking into account a few examples, sisters are competitive among each other to look the best and be the most mannered and elegant while brothers fight to show their strength. And about brothers and sisters, I can safely conclude it is about everything in the world.

Most parents must be sick and tired of trying to put up with the never ending fight or put it off. The most natural way of dealing it, as I see it, must be letting the ones who started end it. Every time an elder tries to monitor and solve the issues the matter gets worse. They could get the blame for playing favorites or for trying to impose what they feel is right. A child’s vision is very much different from the pragmatism of a grown up. And to encourage the self defending and matter solving capabilities of the young, they should be allowed to handle it themselves, unless it starts getting harmful physically, psychologically and otherwise.