my tattoo tour

I'm here to tell you - just do it, girl.

If you follow me on Instagram (which is how most of you discover my blog), you'll know I have a few tattoos sprinkled across my body.

Whenever a tattoo of mine is visible on my Instagram posts (like this one), I always get comments asking for a tattoo tour. I've had these tattoos for a while now, and the sparkle and shine I once felt towards them is now replaced with the comfort of knowing they are part of who I am.

No, they're not highly visible or even necessarily unique, but they are special to me.

I will be posting a proper tattoo tour in video form sometime soon, but for now, I hope you enjoy learning about the four tattoos I currently have, why I got them, and future tattoo ideas I have in the works.

So, here's a breakdown of each of my tattoos and why I got them

Aquarius wave astrology sign + Egyptian hieroglyph

I had an aggressive approach when it came to getting my first tattoo. Or should I say tattoos?

Here in Canada, the legal age to get a tattoo without parental consent is 18 years old. Can you guess when I got these two tattoos? On my 18th birthday.

I wanted something small to start, and something I wouldn't regret. My astrological sign was a no-brainer. I don't necessarily believe in astrology, but I do identify strongly with the traits of an Aquarius, and I think it's fun when getting to know others what their traits are.

What's your zodiac sign? Do you identify with it? Shoot me a DM on Instagram, I'd love to know!

The Egyptian hieroglyph may seem a bit random as I have no ties to Egypt.

I've never even visited Egypt. But, since I was young I've had a strong fascination with Egyptian history and mythology, so it was the perfect hieroglyph to use to serve as a reminder for myself to be open to change and adventure.

Yulan flower

For my third tattoo, I paid homage to my birthplace - Shanghai, China. The funny thing is, it all happened by coincidence.

I always wanted a flower tattoo - but which one?? I ended up getting a small flower my friend did for me using the stick and poke technique. Because of this, when I was doing research on what to get, I limited my flower design to simple, clean lines. I stumbled upon a flower poster with all different flowers with their scientific names. I narrowed it down to my top two choices but needed some sort of sign for which one is the right one.

On a whim, I googled 'city flower of ___' of all the cities I've lived in, just to see what they were. To my surprise, one of my top two flower choices was - unknowingly to me - the city flower of Shanghai - the Yulan flower. Though I don't have strong ties to the motherland, I'm glad I have this piece with me to remind me of how far I've come, and how much life I've lived.

Chinese proverb

Last but not least, my most recent tattoo is a matching tattoo with my best friend from high school. She and I are truly like sisters from another mister. We are the type of best friends who are so similar yet so different. We finish each other's sentences and feel comfortable not talking for months. And without missing a beat, we pick things up right where we left off.

We've explored Spain and Portugal together, experienced the tumultuous time that is high school, and now live literally on opposite coasts of the country. But, we always find time for each other, and we've stayed great friends till this day.

To celebrate our friendship, we decided on the Chinese proverb 'bu mou er he 不谋而合'. In its essence, this means without planning or forethought, there is harmony. Of course, this applies to our friendship and our nickname of addressing each other as our 'twin'. But, it also encapsulates one of my core beliefs that no matter where each of us is in life at this moment, we are on the right path.

Don't be confused, I'm not tapping out.

I have many more tattoos I plan to get - a green grape, a tiger, some sort of quote, etc. Who knows, once I have a few more tattoos, maybe I'll do a part two!

Thanks so much for reading all the way to the end, I appreciate you all very much for sticking around, type at you next week.

💙