"Self-Made Pin Up": She is the embodiment of who I am and what I have become. I started by business on my own, most everything I own I bought myself, I started my website on my own -- I am a self-made woman. Many of the women of my life are self-made and built themselves on their own. They have persevered, persisted and have never taken no for an answer. This tattoo is the representation of the women in my life, how important they are to me, the woman I am and I woman I continue to strive to become. Band Logo Sleeve: This sleeve is a work in progress and it will be for a long time. Rock and roll saved my soul when I was much younger than I am now. It was the one thing that made me believe in myself when I felt like I had nothing to live for. It gave me a purpose, something to hold to onto when I felt like nothing was there for me, it picks me up when I fall down -- it is my everything. There are so many bands that have meant so much to me and I want to wear that passion and that dedication to the music quite literally on my sleeve until my very last breath and beyond, so I began to create this sleeve. Each band that I carry with me on my left arm has crept their way into my heart and made it their home and, as a thank you, I wear their colors on my skin. Ink Well: Similar to music, writing and literature became my other saving grace. I used to be a very shy, non social person when I was in middle school and high school. I was and still am close with a few important teachers, but not really any of my peers. Along with my record collection, books and writing stories of my own gave me a way to express the things I was thinking and feeling. I could give a voice to the thoughts and ideas that kept me up at night or that kept my mind wandering throughout the day. I've developed a very stream-of-consciousness style of writing and it's allowed me to connect with others about a wide range of important topics. Being able to organize my thoughts and see them on the page, has also given me the ability to understand how much I continue to grow and how far I've come and how far I still have to go. For those reasons, and many many more, I had my friend and tattoo artist Markus Blanchard do this piece for me. It binds me to my calling and it keeps me grounded to see the well of black ink on my arm every day.
