The Symbolism Behind my Ink

I've always had a great appreciation for tattoos, which is odd considering that I was raised as a Mormon and tattoos were seen as sinful. Maybe it's my love of art or my admiration for people's creative outlets. Either way, I've always found great beauty in the idea of one's story covered on one's body. Like the artwork and body painting practises within aboriginal cultures during rituals and ceremonies. I even find great beauty in scars that people have, accidentally or otherwise, acquired throughout their lives as they too tell stories. Like the 2cm horizontal scar I have on the surface of my left foot, which I got from trying to copy my older brother who was diving into the Portuguese waters in Sines off of large boulders. Being only 7 years old at the time and not yet having the same physical agility or skill he had I ended up jumping a little too short and slicing my foot on a sharp corner on one of the rocks. or the extensive and varying scars which cover my left arm and that once covered my upper thighs from the self-harm from back in my early 20's when I suffered a major depression from struggling to come to grips with my homosexuality.

When I think back to the beliefs I was taught to have about tattoos and how it ruins God's greatest gift which is our bodies, and the idea that bodies are a temple which shouldn't be defiled, yes, that is very much a beautiful concept. And yes, bodies are a gift which should be respected. But, saying that, a temple would lose its beauty if it were not aesthetically pleasing to the eye, decorated in such a way that makes you admire the building even more, it's a way in which it attracts you to the building rather than deter you. And, it just so happens that some people's ideals of aesthetics differ from person to person. Personally, I find both non-inked and inked bodies beautiful. But, it was my love for art and storytelling that made me want to get tattoo's myself and it's the same reason as to why I desire to get more in the future. And so, for today's blog, I wanted to share the definitions behind my current tattoo's. I want to share this with you guys because I'm very specific about tattoo's, I make sure that each one has thoughtful meaning behind them, as reminders of my life's story. Sort of like when in the movie Moana where Maui explains that the marks on his body tell the story of his life's major events. With that, my tattoo's contain great value to me, and value is what I like to share on my blog.

As of right now I only have two, both stand as reminders for ways in which I choose to live my life and lessons that I have learnt throughout my life. The first one I got was on my left arm, it's a minimalist leaf pointing forwards towards the palm of my hand. I got it shortly after my ex and I broke up. I was having an extremely hard time getting over her and my cousin called me out of the blue, which was strange because she didn't usually call me. I picked up the phone and vented to her about my heartbreak. She told me about this lesson she had learnt from a YouTube video. In the video there was a woman explaining that people are like trees, some people are your roots, they care about you and they nourish you to help you grow and flourish. Some people are your trunks they help push you to great lengths and stick by you throughout your life. But then there are some people who are your leaves, and just like the seasons, they come in and out of your life, and you need to learn to keep moving forward without them and that's okay too. And thus, after hearing that story, I went on a long internal journey to fully understand and accept the truth of that lesson, the exact same lesson which life was trying to teach me. And when I felt like I was at a point where I was beginning to fully accept it's meaning I tattooed it to my skin as a reminder that "some people are leaves, and like the seasons, they come and they go and that's okay too." Because when it comes down to it, there are several people that do come into your life for a short period of time, and they come to teach you the lessons you need and once the lesson is taught, they no longer deserve or require to be in your life any longer. In other words, some people are merely lessons to be learned.

My second tattoo is larger than the first and it consists of a design which I myself had drawn up. It's a drawing of a pocket watch with an extensive length of beads coming out of its top handle. To the right of the watch sits a single rose. Beneath the picture is stated one of my favourite Benjamin Franklin quotes "lost time is never found." To me, the image itself is a reflection of that very quote. I chose the timepiece and the rose for very specific purposes. You see, the timepiece states the time in which I was born. Then there's the rose, and if there is anything I learnt in my three years of studying English Literature at University it's that a rose symbolises death. As morbid as it may sound the two objects together mean that from the moment I am born to the moment I take my very last breath I must remember to use my time wisely and efficiently and not to waste the great gift that is living. And then there are the beads, the number of beads isn't of much importance, but its length does serve as a reminder that life is short and should therefore be treated with some urgency because, as Casey Neistat once said, "time is our greatest resource." In short, it reminds me to get my shit together when I've gotten lazy, or when life gets hard and I decide to spend day after day in bed, or just before I make an important life decision, it is there to say "this is your time, you choose how it's used, don't let anything bring you down, remain happy and make the right choices for you. Because you only get to live this life once so you better fucking do it right."

When it comes to the artwork itself, I am very happy with both designs, although I do feel as though the timepiece needs some shading as it looks a little unfinished to me. Sometimes it is strange though cause I forget that I even have tattoos. Even after 3 years of having them I still forget until I go to pick up something or start an activity like doing the dishes or cycling and I'm like "oh, yeah, I got that, and it's there forever now." And it's because I sometimes forget their existence that I'm very grateful that when back when I first started to consider even getting tattoos I took the topic to one of my cousins back in Portugal (who is covered in tattoos) and he said and I'll translate "it's up to you really, but make sure it has meaning behind it cause there will be times when you may regret having gotten tattoos, or get bored of them, or wish you had gotten something else tattooed instead. But, if it has meaning then when those times do come you can remind yourself why you got them in the first place and you won't hate them so much." And, to be honest, he wasn't wrong. Sometimes, even if for a little while I do regret having gotten anything but the fact that it is symbolic of things that are extremely important to me gives the ink itself value. Besides, the feeling doesn't really last long and before I know it I start thinking about what I'll want to get next. In other words, tattoos are both strange and beautiful, and now, they are a part of me, a part of my story. They tell my story. So, if you are reading this thinking you want to get a tattoo and are not quite sure as to whether you should, or if you are certain and don't know what to get, allow me to re-use the words of my cousin, "make sure it has meaning".