Digital Tattoo

Digital Tattoo

      When I was turning 18 years old, I began begging my parents for a tattoo. I told them it was all I wanted for my birthday, I would only ever get one, I was 100% sure about this decision...pretty much anything I could think of to convince them to let me get some ink! It was not easy, but on my 18th birthday, my parents let me get 'Always Believe' tattooed. From that instant, I became addicted to the process. Having something so meaningful that you want it on your body forever, being in the tattoo shop and hearing the needle gun getting started up, watching the tattoo heal over time- I loved all of it. Not much to my mom's liking; I have gotten 3 more tattoos since that first one. 

All of my tattoos mark a meaningful time or aspect of my life. The 'Always Believe' was for a rough few years I had in high school, but ended up graduating with a 4.0 gpa and getting into my dream school. My next tattoo was 'Everything happens for a reason'. That one I got in my mom's handwriting so that I could always have her with me. I got a cross to symbolize my Catholic upbringing. And lastly, I got 'Ad majorem dei gloriam' which is on Loyola University's crest. I got it when I graduated. Each tattoo means so much to me. I do not regret any of them, and am so happy I have them to remind me of certain things that have happened in my life. 

I was never afraid of permanence, and understand that there is a lot more in life that is permanent besides tattoos.  

I think from an early age, it was drilled into me that social media is a useful but dangerous tool. My parents wanted to make me very well aware that I should not overshare on my profiles, and that maintaining an online reputation was just as important as maintaining an in-person reputation. So much of my family lives in different states, and therefore a large part of keeping in touch involves social media. When social media first made it big, I was part of the younger generation of the family- so all of my posts got reported back to my parents. I was a big fan of posting quotes and song lyrics as my Facebook statuses- which then got told to my parents and taken as me being sad, or me having a crush on a boy, or me going through heartbreak. It was from that point moving forward that I knew not to share anything if I did not want it questioned by every possible family member. 

When I started my data mine, there was only one thing I knew would come up without a doubt: an incident that happened my freshmen year of college.  A student that lived on my floor took some drugs, lost control, and tackled me. He ended up breaking my collar bone and caused severe damage to the residence hall. He was kicked out of Loyola. The story caught a lot of attention, and Loyola's newspaper wrote about it. Whenever you search my name, the story is one of the top results. It definitely makes for an interesting conversation! 

                                                       Image source: Loyolaphoenix.com 

Another result that comes up right away when searching my name is my current job position at my district. It lists my title, my email, the specific school I work at, and the school address. I have always felt conflicted about this. Though I absolutely understand having a staff directory available for parents, it is kind of a scary thought to know that anyone can look up my name and know the exact address of where I work! My LinkedIn profile also lists my position, as well as my education and past experience. 

                                                       Image source: d64.org

The first picture that comes up when searching my name is my Twitter account picture. My personal Twitter is very private, so I do not mind that it comes up in a search because I only approve follow requests of people I personally know. My Facebook profile also can be found. 

                                                           Image source: Twitter.com 

Though I am one of six children, 4 of my siblings are much younger so they do not have much of an online presence. Therefore, not a lot comes up about my family when I am searched. However, when I was in college, I entered an essay competition for a non-profit that my family is very close to. My essay was chosen as a winner, and I won $5,000 for the non-profit. Disney Channel Magazine also did a write up on my family and our work with the organization. The article about my family comes up with my name. 

                                                        Image source: pointsoflight.org

My hometown, age, and birthdate can be found on MyLife.com. Most of the information is correct, except 'known associates' and current salary. 

Overall, all of these results are what I expected. There is nothing that I am shocked or embarrassed by. I do think students should know how to data mine. They need to know that, at any given moment, someone can look up their online presence. So they should know what is out there on themselves. I do not think it is one sole teacher's responsibility to teach students how to data mine. I think it should be a lesson and message conveyed across the board. At every grade level, in all classes, students should know that their digital tattoo follows them!