Tattoo Thoughts

Since my 25th birthday I have been on what most people would probably call a "mid-life" crisis. I like to call it being "reborn" and starting over again. A day before my birthday I lost my job, which just showed me that I have to start doing something that I really love. Then I jumped out of an airplane from 10,000 ft and survived, which has shown me that I can survive almost anything. Hence, me planning on skydiving A LOT more times and becoming a certified instructor. Now, I am also planning on getting my first (of what I believe will be many more) tattoos.

I have put much thought into what and into where I will get this milestone. Since it will be my first tat, and my family would murder me if they knew I had one, I have decided on getting it in a very unnoticable spot....my forehead...haha, joking. I believe that my right thigh is going to be the most oppurtune place for it. I know some people have said that that is not a good spot, because no one will be able to see it. This I really don't care about, because this tattoo is for myself. It will only mean something to me, and I could really care if anyone sees it or even approves of it.

Then came the thoughts of what I was going to get. I wanted something that would be close to my heart and something that I would never regret. I have been working on a Celtic Knot design that is going to be going all the way around my right thigh.

The Celtic Knot will entail 2 different designs. The first being a knot that stands for my last name, Byrnes. Byrnes is Gaelic and comes from the name O'Byrne or Byrne (the O means "son of"). Byrne can even be traced back even further to Bran, which stands for "raven". With my last name standing for "raven", I have decided to go with a knot consisting of ravens.

The 2nd design that I am going with is a Celtic band that will be going all the way around my thigh. My mother's maiden name is Murphy, a very very Irish name. It is also Gaelic and comes from the name Murchadh, which gets broken down to muir (sea) and cath (battle). Together, the two stand for "Sea Warrior", which just shows you why Murphy is such a dominant and important name.

So, I have taken an old Gaelic Warrior band, and Sea design and have produced a thick band that will extend out of the Raven Knot and go all the way around my thigh, while leaving a small break on the inside of my leg. As everyone knows, you cannot have any tattoo go all the way around any part of your body, because then when you pass away your soul will be unable to leave your body. I believe that this is an old Indian belief.

I am so excited to receive my first tattoo, and I can't wait to see how it ends up. Now, I just have to find a tattoo artist that I can trust will do a great job and that I can see myself coming back to in the future. Because, like skydiving, I believe I will become addicted to tattoos.

Once I receive my first tat, I will def post a picture.