Why I have a tattoo of a square
On December 1st, 2015 I got my very first tattoo. I always figured that I would probably get a tattoo, but I was never 100% sure if I would or not. My parents didn’t love tattoos or the idea of their kids getting tattoos, which is absolutely understandable. Growing up they always made sure we knew just how permanent tattoos were and what outcomes, good and bad, might come from getting a tattoo. I really appreciated that they gave us the information, restricted us a little bit to make sure we made the best decisions, but still respected our decisions when we made them.
One of the first times someone influential in my life got me thinking about getting a tattoo was my friendship with Doug Rever. I met Doug through my church growing up and I thought he was such a cool guy! He had tattoos, we both knew how to run the soundboard, played guitar, and just got along really well together. We were very similar people and I definitely looked up to him in some areas of life. He was a few years older than I was and he had some tattoos and has continued to get them to this day. I love how they looked and I loved how they sparked a conversation about the meaning behind them. This experience of talking with him about his tattoos and loving how they looked really made me have to think more about actually getting a tattoo myself.
Then came along Casey Neistat… I’ve talked about Casey before and if you know me in real life that it’s about a 94% guarantee that I’ve talked to you about Casey before. Casey Neistat is a Youtuber, entrepreneur, and just all around badass. Obviously I don’t actually know Casey personally, but he has had a huge impact in my life and has helped me 1) start thinking more about my life and what I want in it and 2) because of thinking more about my life, I’ve learned a lot about myself.
Casey has a lot of different tattoos that represent things he never wants to forget. One tattoo is to remember the time he was bitten by a Tiger Fish in the Zambezi river while visiting the Devils Pool with his son. Another tattoo says “Do More” on his forearm which is to remind him to keep working hard and continue doing what he’s passionate about. One says “5678” that is to remind him of his Grandmother who was an amazing tap dance instructor. He has many more, but those are just a few examples. To me, Casey’s tattoos are simple and yet they still have a ton of meaning behind them. They are meant to be reminders of extremely important and meaningful events, moments, people, etc. he has had in his life. I loved this idea and after seeing Casey’s tattoos I knew the style I wanted for mine: I wanted very simple designs that have a ton of meaning behind them.
Now I knew I wanted a tattoo and all I needed was for the meaning behind a tattoo and design for a tattoo to come along. About a year before I got my first tattoo I was back home in Bloomington-Normal for winter break. While I was there I went to visit some of the best friends I will ever, ever have. These are the type of guys who will be my best friends no matter what happens between us. During this time of my life I had been wearing a white string bracelet. There was absolutely no meaning behind the bracelet, all that happened was I found it, I liked how it looked, and started wearing it one day. While I was hanging out with my friends one friend, Sam Fitch, noticed the bracelet and said “What is that? Why are you wearing that?” There may have been some explicit language in there, but I don’t remember so let’s just paraphrase for now. So then I said “There’s no reason, I just like wearing it!” Sam replied, “No really, why are you wearing that? What’s the meaning behind it?” Then I said, “Dude, there’s no meaning behind it. I just like wearing it!” Sam then proceeds to say “That’s fucking stupid, that’s like getting a tattoo of a square.” That was the moment I knew I was going to get a tattoo of a square. I just knew it was going to happen.
I didn’t know when I would get a tattoo of a square, I didn’t know where I would get a tattoo of a square, and I didn’t know how big or what the square would look like, but I knew I was going to get it. It didn’t happen immediately, I just held onto this idea and this moment and let it sit in the back of my mind. It wasn’t until a couple months later that I starting thinking about getting a tattoo again. Eventually I started thinking about where I would get the square. I ended up deciding that I wanted to get it on the inside of my elbow because it was somewhat inconspicuous.
On day I finally decided to go get it. I went in to a tattoo shop in Boulder on December 1st, I liked the fact that it was December 1st because it’s the first of the month and the number one is a nice number, and asked for the tattoo of a square on my arm and pointed to where I wanted it. The guy asked how big I wanted it. I didn’t really know what to say because I was kind of nervous and said about an inch or so? The artist sketched it up really quick and put the stencil on my skin. The size was bigger than I had originally imagined, but I actually loved the size. I loved the idea of having a perfect inch by inch square because I not only love numbers but I really enjoy round numbers. The size looked really good, I liked it being a perfect inch, and I wanted to finally get it. So I did.
Every single time I see the tattoo I smile. I think of my best friends. I think of the first time I showed each of them and their reactions were priceless, they ended up really liking it. I think of the idea that throughout your life there are going to be people who tell you what you should or shouldn’t do and sometimes you just have to do what’s best for you even if they initially think it’s stupid. I think of the thrill of doing something exciting that I believed was best for me, and it was. I think of the idea of something that initially has no meaning like a bracelet or a tattoo of a square, but because of amazing people in my life it has now been given meaning in a whole new way in the tattoo. The meaning isn’t in the bracelet or in the tattoo, the meaning is in the people and ideas who inspired it and who are represented by it.
In life there will always be people trying to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do and sometimes you just have to say fuck it and get a tattoo of a square.
This was a lot longer of a post that I had anticipated, but I honestly really love my tattoo and just wanted to talk about why I got it. If you have gotten this far I really appreciate it! Leave a comment below about any tattoos you have or ideas for tattoos that you want to get.
