And So It Begins

In January I decided that instead of doing the traditional New Year’s resolution, I would choose one positive word to focus on for the year…Freedom.

It’s now February and today I take the first step towards acknowledging that word. Today I’m getting my first tattoo.

It’s something I’ve been thinking about for twenty plus years, but I never found an image that spoke to me, or one I felt I could live with for the rest of my life. Also, I had this idea that it would somehow make me appear trashy and that it was tacky…all the things that I was told about tattoos, especially on women.

I began looking up quotes about freedom and when I came across, ‘Beyond Fear Lies Freedom’, I knew I found something that resonated with me. I began looking for it on Pinterest, but when I came across this image , which spoke to me louder than words alone ever could, I knew that I would be happy with it forever.

In it I saw myself, a young girl moving from childhood into womanhood, except unlike me this young girl was free. There she stood facing the world, her stance open and confident, hair blowing in the breeze and the symbolism of the birds, well that clinched it!

So this simple little tattoo, without words, speaks volumes to me and will be a daily reminder to never again allow the fear created by the traumas of my younger years, to hold me back from the freedom to be me.

Two months into the year and today I tackled Freedom from fear, Freedom from preconceived ideas and Freedom from concern about how others might judge me.

I’d say that’s a pretty good start!