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Tattoo Meanings Can Change
The wonderful side effect that occurs when you have endured the experience of " being inked " is that the meaning behind your tattoo also gets embedded along with the tiny droplets of ink. Whether it be a memorial tattoo or one commemorating a time of your life or even just because it was cool looking, every time you take a peek the memories of that day come flowing back into consciousness.
The increasingly comforting feeling about one's ink is that the meaning continues to evolve with you as you grow. This growth could be spiritual growth, physical age or maturity. Additional tattoos can alter the original meaning of the lone piece into a more complex depth of meaning for you.
Case in point, I originally had tattooed a black and gray dragon on my right thigh. At that time in my life it gave me great strength knowing that I had something of my very own. My own walk into adulthood had been marked as I made my own decision, my own permanent marking. To me this was the beginning of what may become my permanent marking in the world through the hearts and memories of those i may interact with during my time here.
However, as I grew as a person and became a man with many responsibilities, that original black and gray tattoo, now redone in color, is part of the hidden past. It is no longer what it was, but to me I know it is there in its original form underneath this new vision of bright colors. In addition, three additional dragons accompany the one, marking other layers of my personality that intertwine with that once innocent, lone dragon.
My left thigh became covered with a bright and flowing phoenix. To further exemplify my discussion, my dragons now have become only a half of my overall feeling behind my tattoos. They still hold their individual meanings to me, but have also developed into a component of total body in that they are the balancing factor to my phoenix. One side can not stand alone by itself maintaining the whole, both balancing sides are required to maintain the personality my friends and family know me to be.
I have added other tattoos all with their own set of meanings, but these seven individual layers, some converted from black and gray to color reviving them and me, some joined to a larger meaning, make up my entire picture as a person. There may or may not be more to come, but I guarantee they will continue to shape my being as I see myself while time travels on.
To see more of the story behind my tattoos, check out our partner site all about Tattoo Stories. You can also see a short movie of me getting inked!
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Tattoo Meanings Can Change
