My Tattoos

I get asked a lot about my tattoos, how many I have, if they hurt, and the meanings behind them. So I decided to take it to my blog to tell you about the two tattoos I have at the moment and what my future plans for tattoos are.

We'll start off with my first tattoo, which I got 5 months ago today.

It's a watercolor feather with birds coming from the top and a quote from The Beatles: "Take those broken wings and learn to fly," underneath. I got this done on my left side.

People may say that you're supposed to start small with your first tattoo, but this is what I wanted at the time, I've been wanting to get this tattoo since I came up with the idea with my friend Bridget in 6th grade. And after watching Ink Master on TV, I realized how much I've always loved watercolor art and thought it fit artistically well with the design and the meaning behind it.

Did it hurt? The outline, not so much. In certain areas during the outline in black, I almost fell asleep, and certain parts, such as higher up on my waist and longer towards my hip bones hurt more. The shading is what HURT. I sat for about 2 hours getting an outline done, and for the last hour and a half for the shading, I was ready to tap out, but I didn't. I just decided to push through and get it over with. It was going to hurt just as much if I took a break and it's easier on the tattoo artist to just pull through with no breaks. It cost me $350, and was SO worth it.

The meaning? As I mentioned before, my friend. Bridget, and I though of the feather concept in 6th grade. Feathers represent strength, birds represent freedom, and the quote resembles what I've been through. From being bullied all throughout middle for being an ugly, fat, and emo nerd and in high school for not being "cool" enough. I was always a perfectionist before all this, but the pressure added on from the kids at school really pushed me over the edge. I was a cutter since I was 8 to help me deal with the pressure from school, the kids, and to punish myself. In high school I was also bullied for being fat, I started a "diet" which turned into an eating disorder, and even after I lost all the weight, the kids would still bully me, throw cheeseburgers at me knowing I was vegetarian, and start rumors about me; like I was on drugs, my mom was starving me, or that I was doing this all for attention. I didn't care if I died at the time, I gave up. Even though I had straight A's in school, and people showed their concerns, I didn't care, I was ready to die and thought about killing myself. CPS got involved and I was almost put in foster care during and after my two month hospitalization after I almost had a heart attack at 78.5lbs.

This tattoo will always remind me that I'm strong, that I freed myself from self-harm, my ED, OCD, and all the self-hate, and hate from others. I got this tattoo a week after I went vegan and stopped all my OCD-Like behaviors. It represents a new beginning and new chapters and opportunities in my life as a free, loving, and strong individual in a world that is much too harsh and cruel. You can still find yourself and become someone amongst the mess.

WARNING: ONCE YOU GET ONE TATTOO, YOU WILL WANT MORE, AND MORE, AND MORE.

They are highly addictive, but that's not the reasoning behind this tattoo.

This symbol is a witchcraft sigil, meaning "I will let go of my past."

I got this tattoo around 5 weeks ago and I decided to get it to represent letting go of not only my crazy, hectic past and disorders, but I was also working hard to get over a really terrible break up with my ex. I was incredibly hurt, but I had extra time to spend on bettering myself.

My mom and myself have always been interested in witchcraft and the symbolism behind it. I came across many sigils, but this one at the time really hit me. Not only was the design beautiful and slowed well with the body structure of my wrist and veins, but the meaning behind it really gave me comfort.

Not only does this tattoo have meaning for the present, but it can help remind myself that I can let go of things and situations that are toxic for my health and others around me. It helps keep me away from negativity in all aspects of life.

It cost my $80 dollars and I say for about 15 minutes. It was NOWHERE near as painful and my first tattoo and kinda just felt like get a cat scratch.

So what are my plans for future tattoos?

My dad has booked an appointment with the 1st winner of Ink Master, Shane O'Neil, which I'm INCREDIBLY excited for, later on this month as a Halloween gift, and this tattoo I'm getting is for my mom and will always have a special place in my heart.

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into my life and the stories behind my first two tattoos. Let me know if you'd like to see more posts like this in the future.

xoxo thecollegefitnessfoodie

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