Marked Forever; The Ultimate In Unique Expression

19 Year Old Me. Feeling Sunny.

M came home yesterday with an assignment from school — design his own wampam belt by including 3 elements that would personify his unique piece.

Soccer Ball
Star of David
Musical Note

First, I thought What is a wampam belt? A quick trip over to Wikipedia answered that one.
Then I thought, I love it! M is getting homework to self express. His style statement begins!
I asked him why he chose those particular symbols.

His reply:
The musical note is because music is big in our family.
The Star of David because we’re Jewish.
And you know why the soccer ball…it’s a huge part of my life!

All true!

Wampam belts aren’t really au courant anymore.
Now, we use tattoos to mark our unique expression.

When my time to tattoo came around, it was a no brainer–I’d get The Sun, of course.
I felt a connection to the orange and yellow rays since I was little –way before I was aware of having the Sun in my First house — astrologically speaking.

I was 19. It was in the basement of some sketchy shop with no A/C on Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles. I passed out in the chair.

My second tattoo experience was a bit more civil. It was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn — on Metropolitan Avenue.
Again, I knew exactly what to get — Wings.
I was 22, and living life as a free spirit.

Since then, I’ve questioned whether this tattoo still belongs on my arm. Growing up and having kids tends to dampen the free spirit. But recently, I’ve come to recognize that though I’m not as free as I was at 22…freedom is still very much a part of who I am. (Double Aquarius — ruled by Uranus!) It was and still is a huge priority. And it’s expressed in many aspects of my life. It’s part of my style statement.

Now comes the confession…I’ve looked into getting my sun tattoo removed. (You called it, Mom!) The shoddy shop on Hollywood Blvd did a schlock job on the rays, and I don’t love how it looks. I still feel a kinship to The Sun as I did when I was young–I’d just draw it out a lot differently today.

I don’t mind my wings– I’ll always love looking at the birds fly through the sky because they speak to my sense of freedom– but this tattoo could use a touch-up. The laser removal process is painful and expensive. And it doesn’t guarantee complete riddance. I toy with the idea of cover-up tattoos…making them better express me now. But we shall see…

So unique expressions evolve — exactly as they should. My tattoos are a constant reminder of this.

M’s wampam belt is his unique expression. Whether a soccer ball, Star of David and musical note continue to resonate with his soul is TBD. But I’ll be watching (and hopefully enjoying) all his efforts to self express.

I wonder if he’s going to tattoo it?

Oh, it sure is fun looking into cover-up ideas…checkout my pinterest board for tattoo inspo here.

What are your unique expressions –worn for the world to see?

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