What do they mean?

Hi all!

Today's post is all about tattoos. I have six of them, and I love four of them. One question I always get asked, however, is: What does that mean? Why did you get it?

 Now, all my tattoos have some kind of meaning behind them, but this question does annoy me slightly. If you love a particular design or script, why not get it permanently inked onto your body? There does not need to be a deep or emotional reason behind this. It is your body, do what you wish with it.

The other concern is job opportunities, Two of my tattoos are in fairly visible places, and it is a slight worry, but I do not believe it should be. As I mentioned in my last post, I am currently searching for a job, preferably in an administrative role, and I feel like I will need to cover my tattoos to ensure a job. It should not be this way, and I'm sure in a lot of cases it is not, but there is still prejudice on tattooed bodies. It is a shame, someone with tattoos is no less capable of doing excellent work.

I will now take you through my tattoos:

These were my first two tattoos. The stars were my first, and I got them done on a whim one day at a walk-in tattoo studio when I was 18. They reason I got these were for my late Grandad, in a kind of tribute to him. However, I am not happy with how they were done, and as I was so young I did not really know what I wanted.
The bird is very significant. It is a swallow, and it is exactly the same tattoo, in the same position, as my late step-mother had. She died aged 50 of cancer and it is a very dear piece of art to me. I love this one.

My third tattoo I also love. It is a squid, although it is only black and grey (it was fresh in this picture, and the red you can see is exactly what you'd imagine). I got this one because my dad's nickname for me has always been "squid", and seeing as he hated all my previous tattoos, I thought I'd get this to placate him. Luckily, it is one of my favourites now.

My fourth tattoo, and the second and last one which I am not particularly happy with. I love crosses - although I am not religious, they bring me a sense of calm. However, I wanted something small, maybe the size of my thumb. This is on the back of my neck/shoulders, and it is about 4 inches long. Again, I was young, and didn't feel comfortable to be assertive about exactly what I wanted. It is a shame, but at least I can't see it haha!

  

This tattoo was my fifth, and I love it. It's on my ribs, and is a Shakespeare quote from A Midsummer Night's Dream. I am an English graduate, and I absolutely adore all things literary. I love the font and the quote is perfectly suited to me, as I am no more than 5"2, and I can be pretty feisty!

My latest tattoo - which I still got over two years ago - does not have any particular meaning behind it, it is just a design I like. It is on my upper thigh, and I hope to get it coloured at some point soon. I do really like it, and I think it looks really nice when you can jut see it poking out under shorts or a skirt.

So those are my tattoos. I don't have plans to get any more in the near future, apart from getting my roses coloured in. Next time I do get one, I would like to get a ruby in dedication to my Nan, Ruby, but for now I am happy with those I have.

Let me know what tattoos you have :)

Until next time,

Jo