I absolutely love tattoos. I know some people hate them and don't understand why someone would commit to something so permanent and image-altering, and I completely get that. It's a big commitment. But to me there's just something so beautiful about body art that represents who you are as an individual and what is most important to you.
Recently I've been working on sleeving my left arm. Though it's still very much a work in progress, I wanted to share photos of each element and what each piece represents to me.
The first element is one I've been working on since last summer. I love these clocks so very, very much. The time on each of the clocks represents a significant date/person in my life - 6:22 (6/22) is the date Sean and I got married, and 5:21 (5/21) and 12:03 (12/3) are Taylor and Oliver's birthdays. To me this piece is most important because it represents the three most important people in my life.
The open birdcage is symbolic of me choosing to go my own way, define myself, and to be free to make my own life choices. Part of that freedom includes the decision Sean and I made a little over four years ago to leave our religion and choose our own path. I can honestly say it's been one of the best decisions we've ever made together.
For those who don't recognize this quote, it's from a Radiohead song called "Karma Police." I've always loved this particular line as it can mean so many things to so many people. To me, it represents my struggles with depression and serves as a reminder to me that when the darkness of depression consumes me, I temporarily lose myself. This is actually very comforting because it means that depression doesn't define me. Depression is a liar.
This is one of my favorite pieces. These little guys are three of my favorite literary characters from children's books - Alexander from "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," the Little Prince, and Milo from "The Phantom Tollbooth." I've always been fond of children's books as I feel that they can teach adults so much about love and life and about what is really important. Alexander reminds me that bad days just happen sometimes (even in Australia), and that it's okay to be mad and frustrated sometimes. Honor your feelings and acknowledge them; even negative feelings are valid. The Little Prince reminds me to always try and see things from a child's perspective, to keep my priorities straight, and to appreciate the little things. Milo reminds me to keep my eyes open, to not take anything for granted, and to try to be happy and content in every chapter of my life. Milo is also a little tribute to my grandma, who helped me develop a love of reading and gave me a copy of "The Phantom Tollbooth" on my tenth birthday.
This crab is an important addition to my sleeve. My astrological sign is Cancer, and though I don't put a lot of faith in astrology, I do believe there is some truth to it. I am a Cancer through and through. Inside the crab are stylized versions of my parents' astrological signs as well as roman numerals representing the years they were born. I am made from them, and have inherited many admirable (and not so admirable) qualities from both of them. I adore them both and owe so much of the person I am now to the way they raised me. This is my tribute to them.
So there you have it - a little peek into my ink and what it means to me. I've still got some more work to do on my sleeve, but I'm so happy with the way it's looking so far!
