The Forever Souvenir
Some people traveling to a foreign country buy souvenir magnets, postcards and shot glasses. I got a tattoo.
I knew from the very beginning of the trip a tattoo is what I wanted. My tattoos are a part of me and have special meaning — I can almost tell my life story with the history behind my tattoos, in the order that I got them.
- Twelfth Night
Since high school, I have loved Shakespeare. Since before then, I have loved music, so it was only fitting that my first tattoo would be of my favorite quote from my favorite Shakespeare play.
“If music be the food of love, play on…” it reads.
What makes it even more special is that the font and design is actually a high school friend’s handwriting and drawing.
I was only 18 when I got this, but still asked for Mom’s permission.
2. Spirit
The Spanish word for “spirit” is “Espiritu,” which is my last name. The symbol of the Holy Spirit in Catholicism is the dove. So this one was meant to symbolize both my faith and my family.
3. Lumos
I have a black light tattoo. No joke. The initial idea was for it to have the little stars that are on the corners of every Harry Potter book in black ink and the black light portion say “Lumos” which is the spell that produces light in the series.
The stars ended up being too small, so this one is no longer visible (hence the lack of photo). Keep reading for an explanation.
4. Yellow Diamond in the Light
In 2012, when Rihanna’s “We Found Love” was a big hit, I visited my Hawaii home and a couple of girl friends and I decided to get tattoos together. We didn’t want to be typical and get flowers, so we decided on diamonds to represent our strength.
5. Infinite Love
This one is very significant to me. As typical as an infinity sign is as a tattoo, the artist took creative control by making it look like brush strokes and highlighting the words with white ink instead of the normal solid infinity.
The numbers represent the year my parents got married and in the Filipino dialect, Tagalog, “mahal” means love. Mahal can also mean “expensive,” so there’s that.
6. Chola-star Cover Up
My Harry Potter themed tattoo would get questions about whether they were “Chola stars” or not. That basically means I’ve killed someone to some people. Though friends would only joke about it, it got annoying because I didn’t love the tattoo. Luckily I just covered it up with simple music notes and another treble clef on my body. No big deal.
7. & 8. Nerd Side
I call these two my “nerd side.”
The red writing is in Aurebesh, the Star Wars alphabet. It says, “just breathe” and reminds me that even though no one can see or understand my anxiety, it’s there. I just have to remember in those times that all I need to do is take a breath and I’ll be okay.
The weird-symbols-in-the-triangle tattoo is possibly one of my favorites. I came up with the design, but my friend Mikey brought it to life with his artistic skills. The symbol itself — triangle, circle and line — represent the Deathly Hallows from the Harry Potter series, but the actual symbols that make up the shapes are DC Comic characters Green Arrow, Superman and the Flash.
9. The Writer
This piece is the most recent. It’s another favorite because it symbolizes my passion in writing. As a child, I wrote poems, moved on to lyrics as a pre-teen, short stories as a teenager and then finally as an adult moved into the journalistic style of storytelling.
Writing has always been a big part of me, so I wanted something to represent that.
10. The Compass
My latest tattoo and personal piece of Spain will forever be etched on my left thigh as a compass rose commissioned by artist Adrian Plaza. His followers better know him as Washadriano.
Plaza has dabbled in many different art forms such as graffiti and sculpting, before finally putting his art to work, as suggested by his friends. A talented man in his craft, he found a way to make money doing what he loves.
Designing a tattoo with Plaza was fun. Like most artists, he likes to create his own art instead of taking another person’s creativity. Some people might see a tattoo off the web and copy it exactly, but it’s better for the artist if they can help the person make it their own.
I had an idea for my compass, but he said it was too simple so we worked together to make it more original. So, instead of taking images from the Internet, he used Adobe Photoshop to vector, size and design a compass of his own.
Perfecting the artwork took about a half an hour to do, and along the way he made sure I liked what he was creating.
Plaza started out by creating the outline of the compass rose with two circles, and then played around with multiple lines in the middle forging something like a ninja-star effect. He took a red marker to my thigh in order to get the right size, and went back to the computer to finish up the design by adding the “N,” “S,” “E” and “W” letters to their respective points.
Usually the adrenaline rush I get before getting a tattoo starts to subside and nerves may start to kick in, but his funny personality and demeanor helped distract me from any fear I may have had to begin with.
“Are you nervous?” he asked with a crooked smirk while preparing the ink and needles.
Even though it’s my 10th tattoo, the uncomfortable pinching of the needle can still be a nerve-wracking thought.
Immediately I responded with, “Are you rough?”
Plaza laughed and shook his head, “No, of course not!”
“Well then, of course I’m not nervous.”
At this point, it was true. I was not nervous at all. He has a way of making a person feel like an old friend in good company.
During the tattoo, Plaza kept his head phones on and listened to American and Latin American Hip Hop to allow my classmate Mauricio Muniz, to document the process.
He bobbed his head to the beat of the music, and every few minutes, he would make sure I was still comfortable.
Surprisingly enough, the tattoo did not hurt one bit. Perhaps it was due to the ibuprofen I had earlier in the day due to a sore throat, but even then, the affects of the medication would have worn off. I stand by the fact that Plaza was just gentle with his hands.
Note to readers though — it is never a good idea to take ibuprofen right beforehand since it’s a blood thinner and might make you bleed more while getting a tattoo. This is not good for the artist.
I love my new tattoo. I loved the entire experience. It was the most comfortable I have ever felt while getting a tattoo.
It is not the end of this tattoo, just like it is not the end of my travels. The compass symbolizes for me how sometimes in my life, I never know what direction I may be going in, but I know I’ll always find my way home.
Eventually, one part that will be added to it is an anchor that represents my father who was in the Navy. Surrounding the piece will be roses in a deep red color for my mom who taught me that it’s beautiful to be tough and grow through all the struggles I may encounter in life.
My new tattoo is my favorite souvenir. My compass serves as a reminder that I am always headed in the right direction, no matter where life takes me.
