Growing up I never thought I’d love anything enough to have it permanently inked on my body… then I started working in the entertainment industry. My thoughts shifted to, “do I love anything enough to have it permanently inked on my body?” I kept that question in the back of my mind for years and after examining the body art collections of numerous musicians over the years, I decided there was no better time than my first experience at South by Southwest (SXSW) to take the plunge and get my first tattoo. It was also 3/14 aka Pi Day, so I knew it would be an easy date to remember  🙂

I didn’t post any pictures of it immediately because I wanted my parents to find out about it from me versus social media. I chose an anchor for a few reasons. First, it was the only thing I kept coming back to throughout the years so I figured it was best to go with my first instinct. Secondly, although it may be simple design, it holds different meanings to me:

• My dad was in the Navy for 25 years– do I really need to go into more detail on that one?
• The three O’s are for my parents and sister– all their names start with the letter.
• It’s a symbol of hope and steadfast. I’m pretty hard on myself no matter how big or small the situation is, so it serves as a good reminder to keep working towards my goals and not give up.
• People can lose sight of who they are when they work tirelessly to achieve something. I’ve seen people sell out and abandon their beliefs/morals to get ahead in life. I never want to be one of those people, so I want to stay anchored in myself and stay true to what I hold valuable in life.

I love looking at other people’s tattoos and hearing the stories behind why they chose to have it with them forever. There are some really touching ones like the roadie who got his deceased newborn daughter’s handprint on his heart, but there are also some that left me scratching my head like the college student who got six red solo cups, a pingpong ball, and “Chug Life” on his leg.

Can’t make this stuff up!

To each his own, right? I’m not sure if I’ll get another tattoo, but for now I’m happy to have one that holds a special meaning to me. I know a lot of my friends and followers have tattoos too, and I want to hear about them! If you don’t have a tattoo, what would you get and why? Let’s chat!