Tattooed
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Having tattoo is such a different experience, I must admit. When I decided to mark my skin with butterfly tribal about six years ago, I did it to express my art and rebel soul. But now that I did it again for the third time in two places, I made them not just for art and rebellion, but also to mark certain stages of my life.
It needs a lot of consideration to decorate your skin and when you do, some things inside you change. You are stronger because you had bear such a serious sickness you are willing to have. You are different, because now you have image / text inked onto your skin. You are no longer the "plain" you were yesterday.
For myself, I got my first butterfly for some reasons. First, I always think my life as a butterfly, that was first an ugly worm who transformed into a cocoon and then when time comes, a beautiful butterfly after years of maturing process. I think I am now--at almost 27 years old--a prefected butterfly already.
The heart and tribal symbols are there because I am full of love and a feminine inside. Both of these represented it enough, I guess, while the purple hue is always my favorite, and to show the nobility, grace and widower. I am not a widower actually, but this can also mean solitary for I am somehow alone in this world.
My last three tattoos are my names, in different places and different style. The "Victoria" was made in ambigram form that I made inspired from the Angels and Demons
book by Dan Brown. It was again made in purple with the same philosophy from the explanation above. Purple hue is just so "me".The new "Tunggono" was written in ancient Balinese, for my love for Indonesia (especially Bali) and the ethnic richness of it (I wanted to have Sundanese ancient character for I came from Banten bloodline, but I don't really like how it appears so I looked for another ancient Indonesian character and fell in love with the Balinese.) The color was copying the bluish vein in my wrist to look in unison with my skin.
Finally, Ratu was symbolized in the queen crown with my initial on it, to show that I have both the title of Bantenese nobility and the English blood, though the nobility didn't came from English anyway, lol. I wanted it to be made in color at first, but Odie (my tattoo artist) said it would look greater in black and grey, so I agreed.
Many of people put random things to be inked on their skins and regretted it years later, because people change but tattoos remain. I agree with Spyder who said that a tattoo "tells people what you are and what you believe in, so there's no mistakes". I couldn't be more agree with what he said then:
There's an awesome tattoo quote that simply says, "Show me a man with a tattoo and I'll show you a man with an interesting past" I couldn't possibly love that quote more. When you first meet people, you get the basics...and the current of their life, maybe even where they're going. But when you ask about a tattoo...you start to open up the window to their past. Over the years of having each tattoo, it only grows in depth of the meaning. You can lose your most valuable posessions. Your cars, your house, even your friends and family. But your tattoos, you will only lose upon death. Your tattoos are your companions until your last day. A tattoo is a statement, not a style...and getting a tattoo is a journey, not a destination. The end of the road is not when the needle hits your skin and the ink settles beneath, thats just the climax of the story. Every tattoo had a beginning before the design was even drawn up. THOSE are the tattoos that I love. They have a beginning, a middle, and the end is yet to come.
I have my tattoos with stories and philosophy behind them, although not the heavy ones, because I don't like to put sad memories around. A psychic friend once told me, that tattoos can affect your life and character, for him to see it from the supernatural eyes. Tattoos can define your world and you won't ever be the same again.
My tattoos are myself, they represent me and I am about to carry them my whole life. I know that my life journey is getting harder and tougher now that I've got those marked, but I know I can handle all that. I had experienced a lot and ready for more, because my life ain't stop here. It's still a long road ahead and I'm glad for who I am now and what are inked on my skin.
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