Y'all remember Abby from, 'Be Aware of Other People, Always'? Well, I briefly mentioned her boyfriend in that post, and that their relationship is probably the healthiest one that she's experienced in a long time. I'm happy for them, but the connection here is that he recently quit a traveling job so he could stay closer to home with her, and pursue a different career avenue. He's in tattoo school right now, and last time I went to dinner with them, I offered myself up as a canvas to him.
All of my tattoos have meaning, so I probably wouldn't have done this for everyone, but I've seen his art.. And I trust his skill, even if I'm sure that tattooing skin isn't quite the same as drawing on paper. There was only one problem with this situation, and I've had this in the back of my mind for years.. I didn't know what I wanted to get. There's only one other tattoo that I have planned, and it's going to be a portrait of my dog, Lacey.. I didn't want to throw that project at him this early on when he's just starting out. So.. when I knew I was going to have to come up with something, I made a decision.
"All my tattoos have meaning to me, so.. I was wondering if you had a drawing or something that means something to you? Only if you're comfortable with that, I just want there to be a story and a meaning behind it."
He told me about where he pulls his inspiration, and that he draws a lot of plants. He said 'they represent a larger sense of self, and a connectedness to the world.'
From there, it wasn't difficult to figure out where we were going.. I wanted something dark, but also beautiful that would show growth through struggle. The dark parts of that cycle, the struggle, the pain, the difficulties that have been endured throughout life. But not everything about my life, or life in general, is dark. There are those beautiful moments wrapped up amongst the dark ones, and if you continue to fight through the dark ones, you will continue to find more and more beautiful things in life. And from personal experience, you will also have a deeper appreciation of those beautiful moments after having endured the dark ones.
The skull represents those dark moments, the rose growing through the skull is to show the cycle of growth. My life hasn't exactly been sunshine and rainbows, and I needed those dark moments in order to appreciate the light ones. I like to think this tattoo resembles my life.. The struggles during my deployments, relationships, my mental health, anything that life threw at me.. and the rose growing through is to show how I've come out the other side. Through that cycle, I had plenty of choices towards the path I could've chosen, and I think I've picked the best one for me.
This tattoo resembles me.. a little dark, probably a little fucked up, but.. growing, constantly working on becoming someone I'm proud to be.
The artist did an awesome job. This is his artwork, his style, and his interpretation of my story, shown in a way that held meaning to him. I couldn't be happier with the finished product and the symbolism behind it.
Til next time,
Cowboy
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The Meaning of my Tattoos
Non-FictionI shared quite a bit of my body on the internet before I made this post, and a lot of people had asked about my tattoos. All of them have meaning, and most of them come with a story or two.
