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What’s something that you use as a visual reminder of your strength?
In my latest column post titled “The Girl With the Turtle Tattoo” I write about a visual reminder of my strength that is very important to me. Although I have scars in all places of my body to remind me of all that I have overcome, I wanted to have a visual representation of my strength of my OWN choosing. I choose to represent certain times of my life that have a lot of significance through tattoos.
In my column I wrote about my Honu turtle tattoo with the semicolon symbol hidden in the design of the shell:
“I chose a Hawaiian honu. The shell of this green sea turtle is associated with strength, stability, and security. These turtles can travel thousands of miles thanks to their endurance and perseverance.
My honu is a reminder for me to take life slowly, even when it is frustrating. It reminds me to trust the timing of events in my life. Like the turtle’s shell, my body has provided me with more strength than I could imagine. It has given me the courage to persevere through the rough waters of my life.”
Do you have any tattoos? If so, do they symbolize a significant time in your life? Do you have other visual reminders of your strength? Share in our forums.
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5 Replies
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Brittany, loved this column! I think it’s brilliant that you thought to add the semicolon to the turtle tattoo! You couldn’t have picked a more perfect image of the turtle and semicolon to represent your strength!
My friends from grade school nicknamed me Turtle and still call me that. It’s original meaning was embarrassing but since then I have told them that I like the nickname for the same reasons you got the tattoo.
To be honest, I never thought I would ever consider getting a tattoo but I do plan on getting one eventually. My youngest contacted his brother’s PH specialist for an echo of his heart pre and then post transplant. The doctor did an awesome job finding two perfect ones for comparison. Aidan is working on a design using these and will eventually get a tattoo of it. Once he does his dad and I are going to get the same one. Mine will be much smaller scale I am sure.
Cullen doesn’t want a tattoo…he said his zipper scar is enough of a reminder of what he has been through.
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Colleen,
My mom has a part of my EKG on her inner wrist. It is covered up when she wears bracelets and jewelry but she can still show it off if she wants to
My sister has the same EKG strip on the left side of her chest under her collarbone. I have the ekg and a beach wave before it on my inner wrist too. I love it and it’s one of my tattoos with a good story too. I like incorporating symbols into things that once they’re pointed out make for a good story. I also have a tattoo of an anchor that my sisters and I have because we all keep eachother anchored in life and ground each other when we need it. In my tattoo of the anchor where the rope is at the top, I incorporated the NEDA symbol for eating disorder awareness because I went to a rehab for an eating disorder when I was 19 years old.
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My son got a tattoo of the bio-hazard symbol with barbed wire (and blood splatters) around it. He got it as a comment on his feelings about pulmonary hypertension. When he had his PTE surgery (same scar as open heart surgery), his biggest concern was that they would have to cut into the tattoo. Thankfully, the very skilled doctor cut around it, so his tattoo is still intact. Whenever he went into the hospital, the nurses always loved that tattoo, especially when he told them why he got it.
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Wow VR, this is an awesome idea for the tattoo
I love when people get creative with the symbolism of tattoos and what they represent especially something as significant as PH and all that he has overcome in his life as a result of it. Did he have to pre medicate with antibiotics before he got the tattoo? They did that for me just to be on the safe side ! I am already thinking of my next one though. When I go to the Carrie Underwood meet and greet this Thursday I am going to have her write the lyrics to my favorite song that say ‘sometimes that mountain you’ve been climbing is just a grain of sand” and I am going to get it tattooed on my forearm so I can see it.
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V.R., I’ll have to tell my youngest about your son’s tattoo when he gets home today. He will appreciate the meaning behind it. That’s what he says is most important to him, getting a tattoo that really means something to him. The first thing he thought of was something to represent his brother.
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