I am My Own Masterpiece

Image Courtesy: Graphic Design

I started getting tattoos my freshman year of college.The design I connected with happened to be inspired by, "I Did Something Bad," a song from my top Spotify artist Taylor Swift. I was scared for months to commit to permanently etching something onto my body, but suddenly, I booked the appointment and was walking into the shop with my friend. 

Now, I have about four tattoos: three machine-done, one hand poked, and none of them have a particularly deep meaning. One is a matching design with my best friend, another is the word “her” that looks stamped onto my shoulder that I thought looked cute. 

We often struggle with finding the beauty and appreciation in our bodies. — It seems there is always a “problem area” in need of fixing, or a new trend that does not suit our figures. I think that will always be present for many, but I have found that the artistic expression of tattooing myself has been cathartic and a major point in my personal journey with my body. I don’t think about these changes as something to make myself more beautiful, if anything, I feel empowered by being able to create a more personal connection with my body. 

I used to fear making a permanent change on my body, but now I look forward to adorning myself with various designs. It’s been a gradual shift in mindset, but I’m grateful for the introspection sparked within me. Tattoos have changed a lot for me.  I’ve enjoyed a new sense of confidence, appreciated my skin and body much more and learned to take care of myself in a new way.  

My relationship with my body changes every time I get a new tattoo. I got a thigh tattoo of the Harry Styles lyric, “We’ll be alright,” over the summer, and had the newfound urge to show it off all the time. It was a strange feeling because I have thicker thighs and I am not quick to grab mini skirts or shorts during the summer. I may not love my thighs every second of the day, but sometimes I sit down and trace the ink on my leg and it reminds me that I invested in that tattoo because it was important to me. 

The painful aspect of getting a tattoo never lessens, it just becomes something you get used to. It quite literally involves putting your skin through trauma to create a life-long image. As time goes on I see people covered in ink. I like to imagine they’re focusing more on the outcome; the finished product they get to admire. For my first time, I cannot remember being worried or excited. After my most recent tattoo, I only felt a surge of adrenaline after putting my skin through that familiar trauma.

Now, whenever I see a new flash design from a tattoo artist I love, I picture where I would place it in order to highlight different parts of my body. I feel like a work of art, and there’s a community of artists I admire whose work makes me even prouder to walk in my skin everyday. There will never be another person with your body, and for me tattoos have just accentuated those parts of myself. I encourage anyone who has a Pinterest board titled, “tattoo inspiration” to go for it and embrace their body enough to decorate their skin however makes them feel beautiful.

Strike Out,

Writer: Grace Donahue

Editor: Annika Chaves

Graphic Design: Ella Sanderson

Boston