Getting my first tattoo
Last week, on February 1st 2019, I decided to finally take the plunge. I walked into Tiger lily tattoo studio in Oxford city centre, student loan in hand. who needs to eat when you can impulsively get your skin permanently marked? Contrary to timing, this wasn't actually a complete spur of the moment decision. I had been thinking and planning and designing potential tattoos since i was a young child doodling alongside juvenile puke worthy song lyrics in a pastel coloured diary plastered with fuchsia flower sketches. As well as this, my dad has always been a huge fan of tattoos and has covered his own skin with at least thirty of them so, despite my mother's opinion, it was never a taboo or forbidden thing for me to do.
As i mentioned, i had an abundance of ideas and yes, Pinterest boards of tattoo inspiration as well as screenshots in my photo gallery taking up an embarrassing amount of my limited storage. This put a lot of pressure on me to filter out the ones i genuinely liked and which were just a phase. This was a lengthy process but i always knew i had a definite preference for small tattoos and, as a Pisces, naturally it had to be something incredibly meaningful and person to me. Finally, after what must have been a hundred hours of 'My tattoos and piercings videos' on Youtube, skipping through the mundane piercing halves of the video, i managed to think of the perfect thing.
Looking up to idols of mine had always been a great coping mechanism and way to shape myself as an individual, distinct from my seven siblings, yes seven. My favourite pasttime as a child was watching Disney movies such as The Aristocats and Beauty and the Beast, which were both set in Paris so i suppose i naturally always had a fascination for the place. Disney continued to be a huge part of life, even now as a University student. Skipping forward to one year ago; i finally went to on my first holiday outside of England-to Disneyland Paris. It was a very magical family holiday i will treasure forever so i knew from those tightly packed days in France that Paris would need to be marked forever on my skin. I just wasn't sure exactly how yet.
After this trip, i had to return to university in Oxford to my horrific first year flat mates who made me feel incredibly low and worthless apart from the kind Parisian who would make time for me whenever i managed to find the courage to brave the communal kitchen. To cope, i turned back to my main role model. Audrey hepburn. I have adored for as an actress and an idol for years and she too shared a special connection with Paris as many of her films were set and filmed there like Funny Face and Paris when it sizzles to name a few.
However, the movie i shared the deepest connection with is undoubtedly Sabrina. The plot revolves around a young girl with the same name as the films title who has fallen in love with a man who does not reciprocate, she is sent to Paris where the bildungsroman unfolds and she learns to become herself. she goes from girl to strong woman who finds her own happiness. This is marked by an iconic scene to the song La vie en rose. A romantic song which translated means 'life through rose coloured glasses' or 'life in pink'. Audrey gives a speech to the song underscorring about learning to be both 'in the world and of the world' as well as being strong enough to not tun away from love or life but to face it right on and make her own happiness by seeing the best in situations. It is essentially a farewell to negative thinking and i could not be more in love with the permanent art on my skin.
Looking up to idols of mine had always been a great coping mechanism and way to shape myself as an individual, distinct from my seven siblings, yes seven. My favourite pasttime as a child was watching Disney movies such as The Aristocats and Beauty and the Beast, which were both set in Paris so i suppose i naturally always had a fascination for the place. Disney continued to be a huge part of life, even now as a University student. Skipping forward to one year ago; i finally went to on my first holiday outside of England-to Disneyland Paris. It was a very magical family holiday i will treasure forever so i knew from those tightly packed days in France that Paris would need to be marked forever on my skin. I just wasn't sure exactly how yet.
After this trip, i had to return to university in Oxford to my horrific first year flat mates who made me feel incredibly low and worthless apart from the kind Parisian who would make time for me whenever i managed to find the courage to brave the communal kitchen. To cope, i turned back to my main role model. Audrey hepburn. I have adored for as an actress and an idol for years and she too shared a special connection with Paris as many of her films were set and filmed there like Funny Face and Paris when it sizzles to name a few.
However, the movie i shared the deepest connection with is undoubtedly Sabrina. The plot revolves around a young girl with the same name as the films title who has fallen in love with a man who does not reciprocate, she is sent to Paris where the bildungsroman unfolds and she learns to become herself. she goes from girl to strong woman who finds her own happiness. This is marked by an iconic scene to the song La vie en rose. A romantic song which translated means 'life through rose coloured glasses' or 'life in pink'. Audrey gives a speech to the song underscorring about learning to be both 'in the world and of the world' as well as being strong enough to not tun away from love or life but to face it right on and make her own happiness by seeing the best in situations. It is essentially a farewell to negative thinking and i could not be more in love with the permanent art on my skin.
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