I got my first tattoo when I was 18 years old, my freshman year at DePaul University. I wanted the “Comedy and Tragedy” masks on my chest, but I realized that it was something that would be engraved on my body for the rest of my life, so it needed to be just right. I didn’t want to wake up one day and regret it.
I spent months looking at pictures, researching tattoo shops, deciding the exact size and placement, until I decided I had it figured out. Two of my roommates and I took a trip to The Tattoo Factory in Chicago. It was extremely clean and well lit (not like the dark dirty tattoo parlors they always have in the movies), and the artist was very helpful. I ended up paying $100, which, at that point, may have been the most money I had ever spent on any one item in my life. But I walked out with a sense of pride that I didn’t have before; I felt like I had made a statement. Whether it was one of independence, toughness, individuality- I’m not sure- but I had made one.
This tattoo has several different meanings to me. Firstly, my last name is Mask, so there’s a bit of double entendre there. I did theater and acting in high school, and performing has always been a passion of mine. And I have always thought that the symbol of “Comedy and Tragedy” was a meaningful one. They represent the balance of life. When times are good, struggle is always waiting around a corner somewhere, and when times are tough there is always a silver lining to be found. I made sure that on my version, the smiling face was in the forefront because I tend to deal with my pain through comedy, and also as a reminder that there is always something worth smiling about; a lesson that I think is easily overlooked.
Soon after getting my masks, I had already decided what my second tattoo was going to be. In the middle of his song, “Only God Can Judge Me,” Tupac says, “That which does not kill me, can only make me stronger.” This has always been something that I told myself of when things were tough. I knew that I wanted it as a permanent reminder. However, tattoos are not cheap, so it was a while before I was able to make it happen. There were a few times I almost got it done, but the places I went had higher prices than I anticipated. I again wanted it on my chest, (and I don’t have a large chest) so with the number of words, and the size I wanted them, it was out of my price range.
I found myself at a point in life when I was really struggling. I was almost 21, and had been living in Atlanta for a little under a year- I hated school, I didn't have many friends, I was working a shitty job at a Quiznos on Georgia Tech’s campus that didn't close until 3am on the weekends, getting frequent migraines, and I was battling depression. I needed that reminder. I needed to know that these things would not defeat me. I ended up going to Liberty Tattoo on Ponce de Leon Ave, a much smaller place than Tattoo Factory in Chicago, but very clean, very helpful, and very friendly. We paraphrased the quote a bit to make it easier to deal with, so it became, “What does not kill me, can only make me stronger.”(For the record, this was before the Kelly Clarkson song came out- a reminder that you never know what may happen in the future that could change your tattoo’s meaning to others).
I have lost count of the times where, on tough days, I have gotten out of the shower, looked in the mirror, and been reminded, “I ain’t dead yet. I can get through this.”
As of right now, I have just the two tattoos. There are two more I would like to get (but then there’s that whole money thing again), but I couldn’t really see myself ever having more than four or five. I think my tattoos say a lot about me. They add to my story. And, if nothing else, they distract from the fact that I have an incredibly skinny chest.
I like your tattoos and stories behind them, thank you for sharing! I think they're a great example of expressing on the outside what is already there on the inside.
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