The Tatt

"Psst, Survivor!!" ... I sit in my Psychology class today not knowing this was my name. "Surrvvvivorrr" the guy behind me sings again in a rock n roll voice. "Surrvivvorr!!!" he sings again. I turn around and he's trying to hand me the attendance sheet. I smile and say thank you like I usually do. The guy next to him who I had met a few weeks ago asks for my name again. We shake hands like we met for the first time, because now he knew I was more than just another "normal" girl in class; I'm a survivor.

So this is the tattoo they saw today when I was wearing a tank top in class. I got in April 5, 2013 when I was seventeen. This is how I described it that day when I posted it to Facebook....

" It's what it looks like, a tattoo! Everything went well except I threw up because my anxiety was getting to me and I needed sugar. But hey I threw up way more times during chemo than this! I have been thinking about this tattoo ever since I was diagnosed with cancer...I came up with the whole idea, except the tattoo artist drew it better! One day I was doodling in class and came up with the O and V becoming an awareness ribbon. Creative huh? This is no ordinary tattoo, it explains my survival. I will list off what everything means.

-The tattoo is on my neck because that was where my cancer was.
-It's on my back so it means cancer is in the past/ behind me but its still apart of me and who I am.
-The purple is my awareness ribbon color. Also was my moms favorite color. Ironic!
-The heart on the dot of the i represents the symbol for the best cancer organization in the world, Special Love! I met the best people in the world at those camps. It is the best part about being a cancer survivor. The heart also means that when I was losing all hope, the thought of love coming into my life and growing a family down the road was the only thing that got me through. My grandmother died when my mom was young, my mom died when I was young too. I WILL break that cycle!
- If you know me, I'm a survivor of many things, not just cancer. Survivor is the word that describes me best! 
(PS: don't worry, my dad completely supported it and signed off on it!)"

PS PS: I will be getting another tattoo this year. I'll leave it as a surprise but I will give you a hint...it's for my mom and brother!