healing
How to heal fully and properly.
How Body Mods Helped Me Find Myself
Growing up in a strict household meant I could only do what my parents said and what they expected and wanted me to do, not what I wanted to do. I had always heard that tattoos, piercings, and other body modifications made people ‘ugly’, ‘freaks’, and many more derogatory and vulgar names. I never quite understood why, especially when I started doing something menial like dying my hair. It wasn’t the Family Hair, as a matter of fact, I’ve never heard of such a thing.
By magdalena brock5 years ago in Motivation
Lotus Rising
What is in a tattoo? If you are a mystic, you may understand the power of symbology and the power of piecing words together and spelling. From a young age, I was quite drawn to piercings and tattoos, I always knew I would be a proud bearer of many. My first tattoo was when I turned 18 years old. At that time, I was a careless, ruthless, wild young thing with a rebellious demeanor and an intense pain body. An emo, a punk, a headbanger, and an underground raver; something raw, like a wound picked at too many times, filled with angst from a broken home. You can imagine the tattoos that I got at that time reflected this, and truthfully I am quite glad I only got a few at this age. This isn't a story about those tattoos though, this is about my favorite tattoo.
By Aluna Dragon5 years ago in Motivation
Still I Rise
The idea I have for my first tattoo (that I will be getting in the near future) is based on concepts that have been important to me since I was a kid and my backstory, which has helped to shape me into the person I am today. I knew if I ever got a tattoo, it would have to be symbolic of a hybrid dragon and phoenix (a Phoegon as I call it), my favorite mythological animals and I would have to draw and design it myself. I was in an abusive relationship for 14 years (married for 7 of those years), since I was only 14 years of age. He was the only guy I had ever dated and I fell in love quickly, regardless of how he treated me. I gave it my all and I thought it would be enough, even if he didn’t care about my feelings at all. I didn’t realize at the time that I was looking to fill a void in my heart that my mother created. I was used to not being treated the best since birth because my own mother’s narcissistic verbal, emotional and psychological abuse broke my siblings and I down to our lowest points without us even knowing it. At a very young age, we each sought relationships with people that treated us terribly. It wasn’t until about 3 years ago, at the age of 26, that my eyes were finally opened. I started to see my own value and how much I had always sacrificed for everyone else and put my own happiness last. I successfully got my divorce in November of 2019, studied for and earned my G.E.D. diploma in February of this year and started college last month in August. I did all of this while raising my 8-year-old daughter and have accomplished things that I never would’ve thought were possible. In just 2 years, I will be fully trained and certified for a rewarding and successful career in court reporting/stenography. When I finally stopped listening to all of the people that wanted to keep me down, my life flourished and I saw my own strength. I picked up writing again last year before my divorce (after giving it up during my entire relationship due to depression) so I can speak out about abuse of all types and mental health issues due to abuse. I came up with the name “Fuel 4 Fighters” because I believe that once you have gone through so much, you are no longer just a victim, you are a fighter. So, my tattoo is based on the fact that no matter how badly people have hurt me and burned me, I have always risen from the ashes and become stronger. I take all of it as fuel for my fire inside. The wings of a phoenix represent what I have already been through and also a reminder that I will continue to rise even when hard times come. Attached to the wings at the center is my heart covered in scales, like the body of a dragon. This idea was super important to me because it shows that even though I still wear my heart on my sleeve and it is open for new love, I now have protection from any shots that may come my way. All that I have endured has helped me to develop a thick skin and become bullet-proof. Engraved on that heart is the symbol of the Deathly Hallows from Harry Potter. I have been a die-hard fan of HP since the first book was released in 1998, hence my love of dragons and phoenixes. Those books are apart of my heart, my character and everything I stand for. The symbol of the Hallows also reminds me of the Holy Trinity which stands for my Christian beliefs, forever tattooed on my heart. The words written on the fiery wings are my favorite words from the entire Harry Potter series, “You’ll stay with me?” “Until the very end.” This is for my small group of trusted people, my closest family: my daughter and nieces, sisters and brother, father, aunt that is like my surrogate mother, cousins and friends that have supported me and uplifted me no matter what. I will fight for them until the very end like they have always done for me. I don’t plan for this tattoo to be large at all but it has so much meaning and importance in such a small package. I hope to make a difference in some way with my life and all that I have been through. If I can help one person that is going through what I have been through, it has all been more than worth it.
By Ashlee Gutierrez5 years ago in Motivation
Flames Eternal
“We are Flames Eternal We are the Phoenix” -BlckPheonix There are many mythological beliefs as to the origins and characteristics of the Phoenix. Some examples are the portrayals of the Phoenix by the Greeks and Egyptians. Both my understanding and embracement of the legendary Phoenix and personal life experiences have inspired my Phoenix tattoo.
By BlckPheonix5 years ago in Motivation
Never Give Up
Back in 2014, when I was 23 years old, I was struggling a lot mentally and emotionally because I had just been dumped by someone I thought I would be with for the rest of my life. The thought of being without him made me extremely depressed. I was so down that I couldn’t even find my way to get out of bed each day. I became very lonely and struggled with my self-esteem. As a result, I made some really bad choices in life that I still struggle with. I went through each day feeling numb. Every waking moment I struggled with the idea of committing suicide, because I just didn’t want to live on this planet anymore. It was a very rough process learning to love myself and understanding that I had value. It took many lonely nights, crying myself to sleep. It took a lot of prayer and introspection. But at some point, I realized that I wanted, and deserved, to live.
By Monet Reid5 years ago in Motivation
Love me
Id like to say I don’t have enough tattoos. Over a collection of time I’ve spent money on the work or desided to buy a 30$ tattoo gun (and do it my self.) The first tattoo I have ever done was “I’m already dead:” right on my left hand. It hurt like hell but has a depth of meaning to it. Whether past history, I’ve already been broken down to my worst; what else can you do to me? The experience of death, I’ve seen to many people die the feeling is or has become a normalization.
By C. Cappo5 years ago in Motivation
Competition
In a world were the current population is 7.8 billion souls as of september 2020 on planet Earth, there exist 7.8 infinite realities. Each individual person is living a life and creating history, determined by the choices that they make each second/millisecond/microsecond/nanosecond/picosecond. It all starts with a thought. The individual has an infinite number of possibilities each time and each possibility creates a different experience.
By Denisse Ramirez5 years ago in Motivation
IHope for a Cure
I have suffered from headaches since I was 7 years old. They diagnosed me with migraines that year and started me on what would be a life-long journey of taking every known headache medicine known to man. In 2004 I was working in my dream job as a nurse & began having more severe and frequent headaches, that were unable to be relieved by any kind of medicine. After a spinal tap was performed it was discovered that I had a rare disease called Idiopathic intracranial Hypertension, it is a disease where your body doesn’t absorb your spinal fluid correctly thus causing increased pressure to the brain. Intracranial Hypertension (IH) is characterized by increased pressure inside the skull. Intracranial means inside the skull and hypertension means high fluid pressure. Intracranial hypertension means that the pressure of the fluid that surrounds the brain (cerebrospinal fluid or CSF) is too high. Elevated CSF pressure can cause two problems, severe headache and visual loss. If the elevated CSF pressure remains untreated, permanent visual loss or blindness may result. Pseudotumor cerebri and benign intracranial hypertension are both former names for IH, which are now considered inaccurate. These names do not adequately describe the disorder and downplay the seriousness of IH.
By Jeanette Hughes5 years ago in Motivation
just a “basic” tattoo
I know, I know... this looks like a “basic white girl” tattoo, right? Right. I was 21 when I got this tattoo and it was only the second mark of permanent ink my body had known. I’m not sure if every basic tattoo is fueled by someone believing that it has important meaning or not, but meaning is what what my basic tattoo was fueled by. Experience, pain, depression, & a new perspective gave my second tattoo breath.
By JP5 years ago in Motivation
