I got inked

I got my first tattoo! Well, 2 actually, my first 2!

From a friend’s recommendation, I got my first tattoos from Liquid Amber Tattoo in Gastown. My artist was Diana Lin, who was professional and quick with my simple designs. The entire session was 1 hour (minimum) and for the most part, it didn’t hurt. Diana and Liquid Amber were very helpful and answered all my questions regarding tattoo care and how to maintain my tattoo so it doesn’t get infected or fade too quickly.

As you can see from the photo above, one is a sunflower tattooed onto my right wrist. The other one is a line of a sun, moon and star tattooed onto my left arm/inner-elbow.

The sunflower has always been my favourite flower and overtime, I’ve chosen it as my own symbol. Even this site logo I created is a sunflower design. In the language of flowers, sunflowers symbolize adoration, loyalty and longevity.

The sun, moon and star tattoo is based off of a line from my favourite poem by E.E. Cummings:

yours is the light by which my spirit’s born:
yours is the darkness of my soul’s return
–you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars

E. E. Cummings

When I told my mom I was getting a tattoo, she asked me why I would do that to my body. She’s a conservative lady and she was worried I’d regret it.

I did wonder if I would regret it. Even if they fade, tattoos are so permanent and life can change so drastically as time goes by. What’s important to me right now may not be so important later on.

But I don’t see tattoos as something permanent in the sense that they always have to mean the same thing to you forever. I see tattoos as a visual statement about who you are at this very moment. This is something important to you right now. This is who you are right now.

Maybe in a few years I’ll be different. Maybe what I have on my body won’t hold its original meaning anymore – what’s so wrong about that? That’s who I am. That’s what shaped who I am today. That was something important to me, it was precious, it was a part of me. Maybe not anymore, but it was, and I don’t have to forget about it. I don’t have to regret it.

I’m not going to be the same person forever. I don’t want to be and I can’t be.

Sincerely, Loewe