This Woman Hid Her Tattoos For 12 Years — Watch Her Come Clean

Most of us have had something we've kept from our parents. That ill-advised nose ring our freshman year of college; the significant other you knew they'd judge harshly. But for Maggie, a woman profiled in a video for This American Life, her secret required a certain uniform for 12 years. She was careful to cover up in front of her conservative Christian parents, so they wouldn't realize that her body was covered in 17 tattoos. Maggie was nervous to show her parents this video (below), which revealed her many tattoos, but after a chat with a minister about what faith means to her, she opened up to them. She discovered they weren't as judgmental as she thought they’d be. They were totally fine with her ink. In fact, she described the post-video talk as one of the best conversations she ever had with her mom and dad. Watch the story!