Tats

Lately I've been thinking a lot about tattoos. I don't know if it's the change in weather which has inspired some change in me, but I'm beginning to think differently about inking up one's body. Normally, I'd be completely against it. The mere act of permanently marking yourself up is kind of repulsive to me. I understand that people are inspired, moved, motivated, or whatever else by whatever event or cause, but I've always though that there has to be a better way to show your passions than to drill them into your skin. But then I started to do some research and ask a few of my roommates about their own tattoos as well. As is turned out, their reasonings were really touching. For instance, one of my roommates has three black stars on the top of her right foot, symbolizing the bond between her and her two sisters, who also have the same tattoo. Being a sibling, I absolutely loved the idea. I'm more close with my twin brother than I am with nearly anyone else on the planet, and nothing could ever change that. I guess I've never really been inspired by anything, so I never saw the purpose in getting tattoos. But I've had a change in heart and really appreciate the rhetoric of it all now. Tattoos are a bodily portrayal or manifestation of a person's beliefs. There's really no other rhetoric out there that speaks as powerful as a tattoo does. Tattoos can be a tribute to one's past and can tell a whole story. Everything is meaningful and has its own rhetoric within the process, even down to the decision of where to place it. I've always thought about getting a tattoo, but the topic has always been so taboo and has had such negative connotations within my family that I've never really given it any serious thought. But last week I decided to call up my mom and just ask her about tattoos, just for shits and gigs. And she was fine with it. I was floored by her reaction, but then I remembered it's my personal decision of what I'd chose to be inked onto me. My choice is what's changed my mother's mind. With all of my family strife going on lately, I've been really attached to the idea of "family first." My brother, in particular comes first. Recently he came out about being gay and it's been a trial and testimony of support for my family. But I realized that Drew is Drew and I love him irrevocably. He's my twin. So, I want to tat myself up with the tribal Gemini symbol on my foot. This symbol holds so much importance to me because not only are Drew and I Gemini, but the symbol for the Gemini zodiac sign are the twins. It's always been so fitting. I chose my foot because Drew and I have always walked the same journey all of our lives together, one step and one foot at a time, in the same unison with our strides.