This was my first tattoo. I got it when I was 16. I was very much into world peace and serenity. I made it up and felt like it was fitting.

I got the wolf tattoo after my freshman year at NC State. My mom sent me a tough love card that I didn’t know I needed to hear. This was the picture on the card.

This is two koi fish around peonies and a little peony in the back. I wanted to get something natural, and I gave the artist a lot of liberty in what they wanted to do. That was what they did. I just got this worked on 2 days ago.

Love Nelson. This is my stepdad’s signature from a graduation card from NC State. He is known for his cards. I got that for him.

The weight bar. I am a competitive weightlifter. I got this several years into lifting, and it hasn’t stopped being a hobby.

This a cat with violets on the inside. My middle name is Violet, and I love cats. I have 3 cats. I used to joke if I got tattoos for all my cats I would be full. So I just got one cat for all of them.

This is a blue heron. I used to live behind a pond. There was a blue heron I used to see on my morning walks. I loved him so I got this tattoo.

My spouse is in the military. We had friendship anklets for a long time. We made them permanent. We both have this band now. It’s a permanent friendship bracelet.