I decided to make a mix it up a little to share a little bit more about myself. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my “true self” and what in my life truly has meaning to me and this popped in my head! I thought it would be fun to share the meaning behind the things I wear everyday. By this I am talking about the tattoos on my body and the jewelry I don’t walk out the door without. Enjoy this glimpse into my person 🙂

First off we will start with my neck! The cross necklace I have on I’ve been wearing since I was a child. My grandpa was a super cool guy that traveled to Italy with his brother when I was a little baby. He got me this necklace while in Italy and I’ve worn it since my christening. I often get lots of questions about it because of the gold plate that is with the cross also hung on the chain. That is when I get to tell the cool story about my grandpa on his trip to Italy 🙂 Recently, my grandpa passed and I decided to I add a charm with a his ashes. This piece of jewelry by far means the most to me and one day I hope to pass it down to my children. What was added to my daily wear this past year, was my sapphire necklace given to me by my grandma as my college graduation gift. This necklace my grandpa got for my grandma for their wedding anniversary. Again, one of the nicest pieces of jewelry I own and will be passed down to my children. Yay for inheriting things!

Sliding down to my ribcage, I have my sunflower tattoo. Honestly the “meaning” to this is pretty slim, I just really really liked sunflowers when I was eighteen and wanted to get a tattoo. It does however represent a time in my life that will always be very important to me. I got this tattoo with my ex’s stepmom my first semester of college. The summer after high school was a roller coaster for me because of some serious life stuff going on, but that first semester of school I was finally starting to get my life together. These sunflowers remind me of finally making it through my teenage years. My ex and I definitely started dating on not so typical circumstances. Even though we aren’t together anymore, I don’t mind having the memories.

Next up is my hands. I always wear these two rings usually one on each ring finger. On my left is a ring that my stepdad left for me. According to my mom he bought it for me when I was younger to give to me at a special time when I got a little older. If I remember right, she gave this to me when I turned 16 right before my sweet sixteen. This was several years after he passed away but it meant so much to me to have a gift from him at such a monumental age. On my right hand is a ring my mom gave me on my 15th birthday. It came with a matching necklace which I used to wear constantly when I was in high school. I do find it interesting that I still wear these pieces of jewelry she gave to me. Considering the rocky relationship we have there are very few things that I keep to intentionally remind me of her.

Moving down further on my left thigh is my “Lovely” tattoo. I also got this done during my freshman year of college. At some point I will go into more detail about this but, throughout middle school and high school I struggled with self harm tendencies. I had some scarring on my upper thigh that was not going away which made me very self conscious. For the most part, people told me they couldn’t see any marks but I could still see scars every time I looked in the mirror. I chose the word “Lovely” because it was the name of a song that I use to play all the time during this time period. The words had so much meaning to me and it only felt right to put that reminder on my body. I encourage you to listen to the song because it has a great message and just sounds super pretty.

My newest (and most spontaneous tattoo) is on the back of my calf. Again, this will be an entire post in itself, but the weekend I met my sister we decided to get matching tattoos together. The phrase “love is as love does” was something that she had told me and it really resonated with me. I have had many experiences in my life where someone was telling me they loved me, but failing to have the true actions of love. To me this is a reminder that love is an action not just a word to be spoken. I strive to remember that in my relationships and friendships so I can SHOW others love instead of just saying it.

Last but not least is my foot tattoo. This was my first tattoo at the ripe age of sixteen. I love when people ask about its meaning because telling the story makes me so happy. This comes from the story of Moses and the burning bush in the bible. Basically the story goes, Moses was traveling through the wilderness and he came across a bush that was on fire. He had the natural reaction that most of us would have which is, when you see a huge bush on fire in the middle of nowhere, you want to investigate. Ya know? He went towards the bush ablaze in the middle of the wilderness and he heard something calling out his name. I’m sure at this point he was both terrified and worried about his sanity. Eventually within the bush he saw the Lord calling to him, calling his name. And the Lord said:

5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”

I first heard this story when I was in sixth grade. I was in youth group at church and an intern came in for the summer sharing this with us. When he preached he would always be barefoot. While I thought it was a little weird, I also found it cool and unique. The fact that he was intentionally doing something to make people inquire about, to share something he was passionate about was so impressive to me. I sought to stand for something like that. Eventually, I took the message he shared with me with the intention to share it to others. I played the piano for the church, so when I was on stage I began to take my shoes off. Not only did it make me feel like I could feel the music more but, I felt more connected to the earth. I could feel more grounded, like I had stronger foundation. After some time this story and it’s meaning kept sticking to me. I was sixteen and some of my friends around me where getting tattoos. Naturally, in true teenage fashion, I wanted one since others were getting them. I came up with the idea of putting “for this is holy ground”, on the inside of my foot. My thought process was that part of your foot was only really ever exposed when barefoot. I thought that helped give the placement some meaning. I had my grandpa write it out for me so they could use his handwriting for the script. After presenting this all to my mom, she was pretty impressed and saw the importance the story had to me. We both agreed this was not a tattoo that I would ever regret getting and she let me get it. I will not lie, sixteen year old was not happy about the pain that came with getting a tattoo. To make matters worse, my placement selection only increased the pain that came with getting tattooed. Afterwards though, it was totally worth it. Not only did I have a super cool tattoo but I had one with meaning. Whenever someone would ask about it I would tell the story of Moses and the burning bush, explain my thought process behind the placement and throw in that it was done in my grandpas handwriting. Most of the time, everyone was very impressed with how thorough and creative I was. I

This post was personal to me because I felt like I was sharing a piece of myself with anyone that reads this. After writing this I began to realize how much “the armor that people wear everyday” can tell. The stories, heart breaks and values behind what people decide to keep on their body forever can be very insightful. I am looking forward to this creative conversation starter to hear other people’s stories 🙂