Most things in life are temporary, for instance: jobs, vehicles, friendships and relationships and that is something that is widely accepted in the world. Tattoos however, are far from a temporary affair.

Getting a tattoo is a huge commitment and one that people need to put more long term thought into before pursuing.

Knowing that things will often change, why do Americans continue to brand themselves with something as permanent as tattoos?

That is a question with varying answers, some with merit, some without, but most spoken by those who have let their body be repeatedly pricked by ink and needle.

One in five Americans has at least one tattoo, according to a March 2014 poll by Fox News, and that number is rapidly increasing.

Everyone has some art form that they love whether it be music, sculpting, drawing or painting. To many out there, tattooing is an artform all its own.

Besides the occasional poorly executed tattoo, most are beautiful and meaningful to whoever is sitting through the high cost and pain of getting it.

In America, the tattoo industry makes upwards of $2 billion dollars a year, according to the American Medical Association.

Tattoos are fun and exciting and represent an exact moment in one’s life, but what happens when that moment starts to fade?

No worries, tattoo removal is an easy out when the next life phase is gearing up, isn’t it?

Tattoos can be removed in three ways according to the Mayo Clinic. They include laser removal, dermabrasion and surgical removal.

With laser removal, the most common method, a surgeon uses a laser beam to break up and release the ink, according to the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.

Besides the obvious pain of being shot at by a laser, tattoo removal is also a time consuming and expensive procedure.

The average cost of one laser removal session is $200 and it can take 10 to 15 sessions for the tattoo to fully be removed, according to the American Medical Association.

After a year of laser procedures, I am still fighting and paying to get my tattoo removed.

Eight treatments in and the mistake I made the day before my eighteenth birthday is still claiming its spot on my arm.

Out of those that get a tattoo, 58 percent of them decide to get a tattoo removed because it no longer fits them, according to WebMD.

If every person was required to read the facts about how much one psychologically changes as they grow up, how much of a commitment getting tattoos removed requires and how many people regret them, maybe more could have avoided this uphill battle.

That of course will never happen though, as no one would dare disrupt a $2 billion money making machine.

There is no guarantee tattoo removal will work in every situation, but those brave enough to get one in the first place will often gamble in attempts to get rid of it.

Tattoos are lovely, until you cannot get rid of them.

Take the time to evaluate whether or not you are willing to display your body art throughout the rest of your life,before making the plunge.