Faith's Story
I saw this post on Faith's blog the other day and thought it fit perfectly with what this blog is about: telling the full story behind tattoos.

For many people, their tattoos represent more than just an idea or design they like; it reflects more about who they were, are or hope to become. Faith's story about the reminder that "life is beautiful" is a particularly influential example of this, and I hope you all will check it out: http://tencentlottery.blogspot.com/2013/04/living-on-purpose.html

She has another tattoo that I hope to talk with her about soon, but right now I am focused on surviving my last final exam week of my academic career.

Can't wait to be back on here on a consistent basis again, because I really do love sharing these stories with you all! I hope you all enjoy it, too.

Sarah's Story 
I didn’t know my roommate coming into this year. As I’m sure you can expect, I had my worries if we would get along or not. When I finally met Sarah on Getting Started Weekend, I knew we had a few things to connect on—gymnastics and volleyball. We both had been involved with gymnastics (and/or acrobatics) for a majority of our lives, and we had both been a part of volleyball in high school (with Sarah moving on to play volleyball at our university).

 

Still, I had some apprehension if we would get along…and, as she admitted to me later on, she did, too. And though we had our similar backgrounds in sports, one of the first things we actually bonded over was tattoos.

 

 

 It didn’t take me long to notice Sarah’s tattoo behind her ear, because tattoos especially seem to just catch my eye. Similarly, Sarah saw my tattoos on the first day we met, and she says seeing them indicated to her that I wasn’t as “sheltered” as she first thought (which just makes me smile because I get that response a lot—people telling me they would not pick me out as a tattoo enthusiast—but it’s fun to be a little unpredictable!)

So the day I settled into our dorm, Sarah and I swapped stories about our tattoos. Sarah, who is the youngest of three kids, says she has always been a little avant-garde and artsy, which, for her, translated into wanting tattoos.

She says her dad, who is a pastor, bought her and her sister rings with the Trinity symbol on them while he was in Dallas for a conference.

(In Christianity, the triquetra [Trinity symbol] is used as a reminder that the God of the Bible is the one true God who is made up of three distinct beings. It is a pretty mind-blowing concept that long-time Christians can’t even fully comprehend, because that is just the reality of being a finite human trying to understand an inexplicably big and amazing God; no matter how much God has revealed to people through the Bible, we just cannot comprehend Him. Still, some people, trying to comprehend the Trinity, relate it to humans being made up of body, soul and spirit, which are three separate entities but all intermixed to form the full picture of who we are. Here is a study on that concept for those who are interested: http://bible.org/seriespage/man-trinity-spirit-soul-body)

Though Sarah’s ring fit her for a time, she eventually grew out of it. When she was older and understood the meaning of the symbol, Sarah says she missed being able to wear the ring, so she decided to get it as a tattoo.

So the summer after her 18th birthday, Sarah went to a tattoo shop near her hometown with a couple friends and got her tattoo. She had the artist do it behind her right ear, and instead of getting it in traditional black ink, Sarah got hers in a deep purple 1) because of its royal connotations that apply to God and 2) because it would fade some by the time she is working and has kids.

 

As far as future tattoos, Sarah has plans for at least two more: she wants the words “I am second” in white ink on her hip and a purple cross on her ribs. The cross serves as a reminder of Jesus’ death, which bought believers’ their salvation. And “I am second” reflects the Bible’s teaching that God comes first in believers’ lives (a concept that is the basis of the “I am second” movement: http://www.iamsecond.com/). Hopefully I can have Sarah back on here when those tattoos happen!

Thanks for checking out Sarah’s story. Please feel free to tell me what you thought of it in the comments below. These next two weeks are going to be insanely busy for me as I am finishing up my final year at college, but I hope to post again soon.


Jason's Story
Just as with Jim from my last post, I met Jason through my sports writing internship because he is on my university’s basketball team. My university doesn’t have many players with obvious tattoos, so I was excited to see that Jason has a couple and that he was willing to talk with me about them.

Jason says he always thought tattoos were cool and hoped he would get one someday. When he was a sophomore in high school, he asked his parents about getting one, and they said he would have to wait until he was 18. So when that time came, he knew what he wanted and where he would go.

Some of his high school friends who had tattoos recommended the shop and artist he went to. Jason says when he first got to the shop, he was a little nervous by the look of the building, but when he got inside and saw how clean the shop was as well as how professional the artist was, he felt better about getting his tattoo there.

And, just like anyone going in for their first tattoo, Jason says he was nervous of how painful getting a tattoo is, especially after hearing mixed messages from his friends. But he says the tattoo artist was understanding and gave Jason a sample of what it would feel like. After realizing he could handle the pain, he went along with getting his tattoo.

The tattoo he got was of a verse that has been influential his whole life — Isaiah 41:10 — which says, “Fear not for I am with you. Be not afraid for I am your God.” Jason says that he initially just got the verse on the scroll, and it wasn’t until he went to college and grew some that he added the clouds and angels to fit his shoulder better.

He then got a tattoo on his other shoulder, another that has roots in Scripture. This tattoo is of a cross with the words “By his wounds we are healed” at the top. He says that he hopes to add something to this tattoo to fill up his shoulder more, but right now he isn’t sure what that will be.

Along with adding to the tattoo on his left shoulder, Jason says he hopes to get a tattoo in honor of his mom and grandmother, because they have meant so much to him. He says this tattoo will likely be on his chest, though, again, he isn’t sure of what the design will be.

Thanks for reading Jason’s story. Feel free to leave a comment below to let me know what you think! I hope you all come back soon.

Jim's Story
One thing I love about how the tattoo culture has grown is that people of all walks of life now proudly wear their ink. It is no longer a form of expression confined to a particular group of people. We tattoo lovers are everywhere!

But even with seeing tattoos on all sorts of people, you can’t help but be at least a little surprised when some people tell you they have a tattoo.

And I had one of these surprises a few weeks ago when I met with my school’s sports information director about an internship I have with the department this semester. In that casual, preliminary meeting, my boss, who had learned just days before that I was into tattoos, told me that the assistant sports information director — Jim — had one.

Jim, who will be 60 in June, says he never had a bad impression of tattoos, in general, though he realized that some people let things “get out of hand” with them. But, with that said, he admits he never thought he would get one.

But that all changed as he neared his 50th birthday.

“When I was turning 50, I wanted to do something different,” he says, “and I tried to think of something unique that I have never done before, so I started thinking about a tattoo.”

After much thought, he came up with the idea for a tattoo of a Christian fish (an “Ichthys”) with a cross and the initials “JC.” With his wife coaching my university’s volleyball team at the time, Jim says he took this idea to one of the players who was artistic, and she drew up the design for his tattoo.

Then, on the evening of his 50th birthday, he went to a tattoo shop in Springfield, Ohio. Jim recalls pulling up to the “interesting place” where a “unique looking guy” was out front on his cell phone. Jim says he went into the shop, and the person at the desk said his tattoo artist should be in soon. Yes, that big guy covered in tattoos who was outside on the phone was Jim’s tattoo artist, who went by the nickname “Inky.” Jim says the tattoo (on his left ankle) hurt, and, at times, he squeezed the arms of the chair he was in, all while his daughter enjoyed taking pictures of the adventure.

Then, sometime after this experience, Jim says he figured he should tell his dad how he celebrated his birthday.

“I wanted to call my dad. Here, he’s a pastor, he’s in his early-seventies, and I had the hardest time calling my dad on the phone,” he says with a bit of a laugh. “It already happened, so it’s not like he could have talked me out of it, but just in a conversation I said, ‘I’ve got something else to tell you: I got a tattoo.’ Dead silence!”

His dad was not mad, just shocked. Jim points out how his large family was accepting of his tattoo, to the point that some others followed in his footsteps, at least he likes to think.

“I would venture to say that I was the first one in our family to get a tattoo,” Jim says, “and there has got to be at least a dozen people that have tattoos in our group of 30 or 35 in our family. I like to think I broke the ice.”

Though Jim says he realizes now his tattoo artist may not have been the best, he has never regretted the tattoo. In addition to having deep significance in terms of his upbringing and personal relationship with Jesus Christ, Jim says the tattoo also has family-oriented roots.

He points out that the initials “JC” not only stand for “Jesus Christ” but also for Jim’s initials. Then, his son’s first initial is “J,” and Jim’s daughter’s name starts with a “C.” In addition, his wife, whose name starts with “T,” is represented in the cross. And one day Jim says it struck him that when he covered up part of his tattoo, there was an “A” in the design, which is the first initial of his daughter-in-law and three granddaughters. The only one missing is his son-in-law, whose name starts with “S.”

Jim says he has been thinking about another tattoo, something that would more specifically represent his granddaughters, but he is not sure yet if he will do that or not. But, for now, Jim says he is satisfied being able to share with people about the faith and the family that his ink represents.

I hope you all have enjoyed this story behind the ink. Wherever you are, I hope that you are blessed and that you’ll join me back here next week!

Heidi's Story
Though I have known Heidi for years, we never spent much time together until just recently when she, my sister and I took my year-and-a-half-old niece on a “girls’ night out” to Chuck E. Cheese’s. It was such a great time!

Along with enjoying awesome pizza and playing games, the three of us also spent time talking about tattoos. I have my two, which I have posted about before, and I was happy to feature my sister (Stephanie’s) tattoo a few posts ago, but now it is time to tell you all about Heidi’s.

 

Heidi says that when she was growing up, she never pictured herself getting a tattoo, mainly because she didn’t know many people with tattoos and she was afraid people wouldn’t take her seriously if she had them. Well, one way or either—Heidi wasn’t even sure how to explain what made her take the leap and get her first one—she did get into tattoos, to the point where she now has five along with ideas for future ones.

Heidi’s first tattoo was the Bible reference of Jeremiah 29:11. The verse reads, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” She says that her mom showed her the verse when she was in middle school, and it has been her favorite passage ever since. She got the tattoo when she was a senior in high school, but she says this verse holds even more meaning in her life now that she is out of college and not sure where to go from here. She is trusting God to fulfill this verse in her life.

Later, Heidi added another tattoo on her left ankle, one that represents her love and admiration for her mom. The tattoo is of an “L” for her mom, Lisa (who I featured on my blog back in July), along with an intricate peacock feather. In addition to representing her mom, this tattoo holds special meaning to Heidi because one of her sorority sisters did the tattoo during her apprenticeship.
 

 

Another tattoo that connects Heidi to her sorority sisters is a quatrefoil on her wrist. She says that her sorority was often known as the “tattoo sorority” around campus, because the sisters were so interested in tattoos. She says that many of her sorority sisters now have tattoos that connect them to the sorority as well, whether it be a quatrefoil like Heidi’s or script of the group’s ideals of “love, honor, truth.” Though some think of sororities as being something to do as part of the “college experience”, Heidi said her connection to her “sisters” is much more than that, hence why she would put it on her skin for life.
 

“This just kind of represents my bond with my sisters and how it’s like a lifetime thing and not just four years in college, so I kind of just carry my sisters everywhere,” she said.

Heidi’s tattoo artist friend also did the substantial tattoo on her side. The tattoo is of a quote from Oscar Wilde: “Every saint has a past; every sinner has a future.” She says she got this tattoo because Oscar Wilde is one of her favorite authors, and this quote is especially impactful, speaking to the fact that you don’t always know someone’s story.
 

Heidi’s fifth tattoo is another quote that serves as a good reminder to her. The text is “I will fear no evil” in Latin, which translates to “non timebo mala,” and it is on her back, underneath a shoulder blade. Heidi says she was especially drawn to this quote because of her favorite television show, Supernatural. But, even more than the connection to her favorite show, Heidi said she knows she really has nothing to fear because she has God in her life. She also chose to get the tattoo done in brown ink because it reminds her of henna tattoos, which she is also drawn to.

Like most of the people I have had on this site, Heidi will admit that tattoos are addicting.

“I would be covered in tattoos if it was more socially acceptable,” she said with a laugh. “I’m trying to not go crazy with tattoos, but it’s really hard to stop once you have them. Once you get that first one, you just want to keep on going; you keep getting ideas. I’m going to run out of places to put them soon.”

[Those of you who have tattoos and are reading this are probably sitting there shaking your heads in agreement, while those who still haven’t taken the plunge to get inked probably don’t get the addicting nature of them…not yet, anyway! I know I was content with one tattoo for a handful of months, but then I started thinking of quotes I liked, which led to me considering getting it tattooed, and once you’ve thought about it long enough you can’t help but go and get it done. And, I will admit, I am in that process again, brainstorming what my next one could be.]

Up to this point, Heidi has put all her tattoos in places that can be easily covered for the workplace. Even her likely next tattoo—some design of a gun with flowers around it, to show the strength/empowerment she has received from recently learning how to shoot guns (safely) while remaining effortlessly feminine—will probably be easily hidden on her thigh.

Heidi says that if she finds a job where tattoos are accepted, she may get a sleeve someday. But, as for now, tattoos are not looked upon so favorably in the mainstream professional world. And this negative perception is something that doesn’t make sense; tattoos don’t change people, or, as Heidi says, “They’re part of a person. They tell a story.”

I hope you have enjoyed reading Heidi’s stories, and I plan to be back here next week with another new tattoo story (as it is now required by a class that I update my blog every week!) I can’t wait until next time, and I hope you all come back.