Why Ink

Why ink?

Ink has always been an outlet for me. Whether it be writing poems, just scribbling messes on paper, writing down my thoughts, or inking my body, I always feel this sense of peace come over me.

So, I’m going to get the ball rolling by starting off with my first tattoo:

Yes, perhaps being the first in my family to get a tattoo will enlighten some of you to the slightly rebellious nature I have within me, but honestly I had wanted a tattoo for a long, long time, and once I finally chose what I actually wanted it to entail, there was no stopping me.

My first tattoo is three simple words: Listen Learn Love

This is the first of two tattoos I have. I was the first one in my immediate family that took the plunge to get inked. My mother was NOT the most pleased when I told her I was getting it (partly because when she briefly skimmed over my email to her about it, she misread and thought it said I was pregnant, hah). Anyway, after I got it, she was actually surprisingly pleased with it. My dad didn't say much of anything about it. To be honest he probably barely even remembers I have it.

This tattoo is pretty plain with just some simple cursive writing and it’s on the backside of my right hip.

Here is the WHY I chose what I did:

This is one of the few things I try to live by every day. These are three of the most important, I guess I would call them, perspectives in my life.

Listen: I have learned that 9 times out of 10 it is better to listen to what others have to say instead of the being the one speaking. This doesn't mean I shouldn't have a voice and that I don't speak up when needed. It just means to remind me that if I take the time to hear others voices, I tend to not only learn more about them, but myself as well. This listening topic doesn't just stop at conversations either, but it holds true for all sorts of things. Music in particular for me. Yes the instrumental part is soothing and meaningful, but listening to someone else’s lyrics is mind blowing. The way people can craft their language to resonate in such a way makes me soo jealous but utterly blissful.

Learn: Learning is something that I really try to challenge myself with. Whether it’s traditional educational improvement or whether it’s becoming more street smart, there is nothing I love more (except maybe volleyball) than feeling like my brain is being filled with more and more useful and useless information. I love rummaging through a text book and pulling out information, as well as developing practical hands on knowledge for all sorts of tasks. I fear that there is this stigma attached to getting older, that we become reluctant to learn and get stuck in our old ways. I have this on my body as a reminder that no matter how scary or intimidating learning something new might be, it is essential for me to keep developing as a person.

Love: Well, I would love to say that I think this one should be pretty obvious, but unfortunately, that is not always the case for me. I tend to have a very negative perspective when it comes to life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m completely void of positivity, but it definitely takes some work. This is just that reminder that no matter how tough things get, no matter how negative I become, there always has been and always will be love in my life. I am very fortunate to have an extremely loving family and I have a husband that would literally give the world for me if he could. It also helps reminds me that it’s not always about the big loves in life, but the smaller scale ones too. I have a life filled with the sport I love, I have two wonderful cats who make my day, and I have the silliest puppy around. Love comes in all shapes and sizes and sometimes we need to just take a minute to really appreciate all the forms it comes in.  

So that’s that, my first tattoo.

I am going to continue to use this section to post the words of wisdom I hear (whether it be lyrics, movie lines, conversation pieces, book quotes, etc) that I connect with in hopes that maybe they will inspire you too. Anything to do with ink (whether the written word or ink on my body) will be included here. 

I encourage you all to share some of your inked inspirations!