On March 23, 2005, I lost a child. Getting this tattoo was such a huge deal to me because this was something that I wanted to get for a long time. I finally got it this year.

I don’t need a tattoo to remind me of that day. It is something that will stay with me forever.

-Amber

Tattoo Artist: Bub
Tattoo Studio: TNT Tattoos in Van Wert, Ohio

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Natty’s Rose Tattoo Story

My boyfriend and I dated for 2 years and during those years, he was falling apart with his father… The relationship between them became insanely bad that he got kicked out of his own house, so my father and I let him in. Eventually, his father kicked him out of school and depression and suicide attempts started.

ADM are the initials of his name

08.07.09 is the date that he died. Everytime I am reminded of this date, I know that I have to keep moving forward because I cannot turn my life around. At one point, I was suicidal myself but I was so glad I was still alive because I met him… but now that’s he’s gone, I have to keep walking the path that I hope he will help me go through because I know this is what he wants me to do…

The Rose is the symbol of our love. My boyfriend dedicated this song “Kiss from a rose” by Seal and ever since, he has nick named me “his rose”. He said I was like a rose: beautiful to look at but hard to hold. Though once possessed, it’s even more beautiful to have.

-Natty

Tattoo Artist: Ken
Tattoo Studio: BOOM

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Ashley’s Cherry Blossom Foot Tattoo

I really wanted a tattoo with my kids names in it somehow. I had no idea what I wanted to get. I went in to a local shop to talk to the artist about some ideas. He thought of a cherry blossom branch. I liked the idea, however I didn’t like both kids names written out in full. It didn’t look right. So we decided to sneak in the first initial of each of the kids names in to the middle of the flowers. A “C” for Cameron, and a “M” for Marley. There you have it! The story.

Closeup of tattoo – Can you find the kid’s initials?

Tattoo done at Elite Custom Tattoo by Bedo

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Here’s the story behind my heart tattoo. My mom raised me and my brother essentially alone. It was hard, but she did a great job. I love her to pieces, she’s my best friend.

Two years ago, my mom had open heart surgery. One of the valves in her heart was very leaky, and it caused her a ton of problems. She ended up being in the hospital for 2 straight weeks, recovering. She would’ve been out sooner, but she stopped breathing one day, and had to have a pacemaker put in.

The day she stopped breathing, was the first day I wasn’t going to go see her in the hospital, I called her room on my way to work, and someone picked up, said her name twice, and hung up on me. It had just happened. The entire experience was really hard on me, seeing my mom like that. She pulled through, and while I’ve always wanted one, I knew from then that I would get a tattoo in her honor.

So the heart has a bandage because it’s repaired. And it’s inside a rose because while it may be a slightly damaged heart, it’s encased in something very beautiful. (I asked my mom last year in preparation for this what her favorite flower was, and she told me roses. So last year for her birthday, I sent her roses to throw her off my trail. And it’s purple because if it was red there’d be too much red, and purple is my favorite color. Haha.)

Placement because it’s close to my own heart, it’s somewhere easily hidden/no one will see it unless I want them to.

Design and ink done by Mike Ski.

Tutu for funsies

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A few months after I turned 18 I went with one of my friends when she got a tattoo. Looking back I probably should have waited to look around at other shops to get such a large piece on my back but, I got it and even with its flaws, I love it.

Up until I was 17 I suffered through sexual abuse when I was very young, never having a real father figure, finding a suicide victim when I was 12 (my step father), being prone to severe depression and when I was 17 losing my mom and big brother within two weeks of each other. Honestly, I dont like to lay it all out there but it needs to be known for the reasons of my tattoo. I got it to remind myself that no matter how hard a situation, I can get through it; no matter how much it seems like Im going to break, I wont.

Ive lead a hard life up until the age of 17 and Im not ‘screwed up’ because of it. I managed to still have a pretty level head on my shoulders and not let hard things get in my way of living life. Unbreakable represents how I live. It represents everything Ive gone through and how I plan on living the rest of my life.

The word Unbreakable represents me. The cherry blossoms remind me to live life to the fullest and no regrets. Its on the back of my right shoulder, taking up basically the whole upper right section of my upper back. I plan to add more to it later on.

- Brittany