“My body is my journal, and my tattoos are my story.” ― Johnny Depp

Okay, I kinda lied. I wasn’t able to post this last weekend and, for that, I am sorry. But here you go! :)

I think I’d wanted to get inked since I was eighteen; I was just waiting for the perfect time to do so. I had decided on the three quotes months earlier, but I wanted to be 100% sure.
I can’t lie. I was nervous and I kept laughing in the middle of whatever I was saying while talking to my friend JV (who was kind enough to go with me when another friend of mine ditched me lol and take this picture among others). I didn’t know what to expect, so I imagined the most excruciating pain to be mentally ready.
Trying out where I wanted the first tattoo to be.



Luigi, Morbid Tattoo & Body Piercing’s owner and tattoo artist, was really nice but I couldn’t help but be nervous again once he asked me if I was ready and I heard the tattoo machine’s buzzing sound. After a few seconds, I finally nodded. He started and I was surprised it didn’t hurt. He paused briefly to ask how it was and I started laughing a bit and told him it was okay and he told me not to move so much lol. Anyway, it was all over in 30 minutes or even less. The tattoos are not too big, but they’re just the right size for my liking.

After a couple of weeks or so, I went back for another tattoo. I was alone, but I wasn’t nervous at all anymore. The third one is on my left forearm. It doesn’t have a clear font, so people have to exert extra effort to read it, but it’s the font I want and the tattoo is for me and not for others, so I don’t have a problem with that. :)
A few people have asked me if I plan on having designs inked and I said no. Words do have more meaning for me. :)

“I don’t want to repeat my innocence. I want the pleasure of losing it again." ― F. Scott Fitzgerald

This quote is from This Side of Paradise. Now, don’t think this is something scandalous ‘cause it’s not. Haha. It really does have a special meaning for me. One of the most important moments of my life was when I decided to leave Milan and my mum to come back to the Philippines. I was only fifteen, but I felt the need to leave everything behind. From then on, I gradually lost my innocence, my naiveté. It didn’t happen in a few months, of course; my college life was great and allowed me to broaden my horizons. I experienced both good and bad things I needed to know about, which allowed me to be the person who I am today. So I deeply cherish those years when I lost my innocence, but gained so much more. In this sense, I still have a lot to lose and more to gain.
I currently don’t have a clear picture of the tattoo on my spine, but it’s this quote:

"Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." ― Mahatma Gandhi

The first part of this is beautiful, too. "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” I decided to focus on the latter though. 2013 has been the most amazing year of my life, but in a lot of ways it was also one of the hardest. I learned things about myself that I had to learn the hard way. And I learned to forgive myself and others in a way that I didn’t think I could. And I’m honestly happy about that. :)

“Take the risk to live the life you dream about.”

I’m not sure anymore where I came across this quote, but it really stuck with me. The whole quote is this, “You have to let go of the life you’re familiar with and take the risk to live the life you dream about.” It reminds me that if I am not willing to take risks, I won’t go anywhere. I took that risk when I left everything I held dear years ago to grow and know myself more. I am willing to take that risk again because I know there’s something more for me out there. I love having this tattoo on my forearm where I can see it easily every day. It’s a beautiful reminder. :)