Marine Core emblem. My boyfriend is in the Marine Core. I got this the day he left for boot camp. I surprised him with it.

Falling in Reverse is a metal band. It has been one of my favorite bands since I was 14. The band helped me through a lot, so I figured I would dedicate a little half sleeve to them. I would get some of their pieces, logos, emblems, and album covers.

The Killers is also a band. This tattoo is the lighting bolt from their Battle Born album. The Killers have been my original favorite band since I was six. I liked the lighting bolt, so I figured I would get that one.

Death’s head moth I have always wanted one of these, and I found a picture. I had my artist redraw a design of it and got it done.

Bats tattoo. I had always wanted a couple of bats somewhere. I am planning on extending it up my shoulder. It’s a bat design; people say it goes with my asthetics.

This is a snowdrop flower and cat skull tattoo. I went out on Friday the 13 with one of my friends. It was two of their flash art pieces. I love cats and have always had cats. I figured I would get the little cat skull. The snowdrop flower is one of my favorite flowers.

This lighthouse tattoo was my first tattoo. I was 18, and had just gotten out of boot camp from the Marine Core. My buddy and I went to get tattoos for the first time. I was in my head about a tattoo. I will be honest, it was a questionable decision. I rolled one of those gumball machines. It was a bunch of designs I liked, so I knew I would not be upset. That is all that is behind this tattoo.

Sic Parvis Magna. It means greatness from small beginnings in Latin. My best friend and I grew up playing this video game since childhood. I had always loved the quote; it’s on a ring in the game. At some point I thought it would be an excellent tattoo.

Alien tattoo is something I doodled all through middle school and high school. I have always had an obsession with UFOs, and so has my dad. We both grew up drawing aliens. It was something my dad did as a kid too, and I realized I had as well. The other day I had wanted to get a tattoo, and my buddy was getting one. He asked, “do you want to get a tattoo with me?” I showed it to the artist, and he was able to work it out.

Horseshoe tattoo. About 15 years ago, I met a former racehorse and fell in love. The horseshoe, to me, represents liberation. I think I was lost in corporate America and climbing the corporate ladder. Champ grounded me. I did not know I had a passion until I met him, and my passion was for horses and equine. The horseshoe is very freeing and liberating. Now, though Champ is gone, he is always with me. I got that tattoo while Champ was still with me. The tattoo artist was Kohen Meyers from downtown Durham.