Curiouser and Curiouser

Day 3: Your favorite television program

This is a hard one… I have several that I love, they’re all so different but all great. I’d say probably  my three all-time favorites are:

-Six Feet Under

-Arrested Development

-Weeds

Currently?

Glee. And been watching Breaking Bad online, but now waiting for the next season!

Day 2: Talk about your piercings or tattoos, if you have any. ((Part 2))

Tattoos

Right now, I have one tattoo on the inside of my left ankle. It’s an ancient chinese character for remember.

There was a time in my life when I was a very different person than I am now. I had a very different mindset, I had very different ideas about things, I had very different beliefs, and I took part in very different activities. That person was sad… she was unhappy, pathetic, careless, and she was constantly hurting everyone who loved her. Deep down I wanted to be good, I wanted to be free of that person— but I just got so caught up in that lifestyle that I never really thought about anything clearly. I was stupid, and I was trapped. I was trapped in all my lies and my way of life that had become so comfortable, I tricked myself into believing that everything was okay that way, that it was okay to push people away and to keep damaging myself and my future over and over. Thankfully, I eventually found a way out of that place. I had so much love and support surrounding me that when I decided I couldn’t live that way anymore, I was actually able to make that change. I am so glad I did… I have no idea where I’d be (or if I’d even be here) if I hadn’t made that change. When my life started changing for the better, I started experiencing things that I had forgotten about… I felt free, and I felt happy. Genuinely happy. I felt joy, I felt love, I felt peace, I started trusting again and being trusted… all of these things I had forgotten about. And when I started experiencing those things, I knew that I could never forget again. So, because I knew that I didn’t have a choice but to make the change absolutely permanent, I thought a little reminder in the form of a tattoo would be fitting. I wanted to make sure that if I ever came close to living that way again, I would be able to look at my foot and remember. Remember what it feels like to be sober. Remember what it feels like to have a good relationship with my parents. Remember what it feels like to love, to trust. Remember what it feels like to not be living in a constant state paranoia, to not be constantly having to cover up lies with other lies. Remember what it feels like to be close to God. … There are a thousand other things I could say about the meaning of my tattoo, it represents so many things to me. But I think I’ll probably leave it with this. If you’ve read even this far, you’re awesome : )

I do have to address one more thing. I knew from the beginning that I wanted ‘remember,’ but I really struggled for a while with whether or not I wanted to get it in chinese. I know that to a lot of people it seems so cliché, and in a lot of ways, it is. But I didn’t get it in chinese characters just because it looks cool— Chinese language and culture has always been close to my heart. I’ve been interested in the culture for as long as I can remember, and I started taking language lessons at age 11. I have family in China, and so far I’ve been there four times. So, while some people may think it’s cliché, it wouldn’t have been as meaningful for me to do anything else. It is an ancient chinese character… I guess I felt like that made it a little more unique. I certainly did my research, and yes, I’m absolutely certain that that’s what it actually says : )

Anyway, that’s more than you ever wanted to know about my one tattoo, haha! I don’t think I’ll ever have a whole lot of them, but I do hope to at least get one with my boy after we’re married, and maybe one more after that. I think three is probably the most I’d do, but I guess you never know! 

Day 2: Talk about your piercings or tattoos, if you have any. ((Part 1))

Just in case anyone noticed (though you probably didn’t) — I missed a couple of days with this thing… but that’s okay. I reserve the right to skip weekends or days when I’m particularly busy. The point is, I’m answering them, right? : )

piercings

I currently have seven piercings. I got my first two piercings when I was eleven… pretty typical story. It was my birthday, I felt like I had waited an eternity to finally be old enough to get my ears pierced! Got them done at The Icing in Park Plaza mall. The girl that was piercing my ears was new, which freaked my out enough… and when she did the first hole I jumped, which made the earring go in lower than it was supposed to. The girl told me I could either let it grow back and come back another time, or I could get the other ear just as low. Of course, my impatient 11-year-old self opted for the latter. So, having said all that, I have really low holes in my ears! ha. 

When I was 13ish (maybe almost 14), I went to China for the first time and was free to run around the city with little or no supervision most of the time. One day, I went with a few friends to the mall… several of us decided it would be a  good idea to get piercings, just because we could. They were cheap, and we were in China! So, I decided to get double piercings in both of my ears, and one in my right cartilage. If I’m remembering correctly, I had a sparkly blue skull in my right ear, and a sparkly purple one in my left… the closest thing to a match I could find. My cartilage was just a green stud. There was a flying squirrel on a leash running around as this guy pierced my ears… I’m talkin, all over the earrings and everything. Probably not the most sanitary thing in the world. My friend Rachel passed out on the floor because of the needles. My doubles aren’t quite even and one is a little crooked… but it sure is a good memory! : )

I have one more piercing in my right ear, just above the second hole. This happened when I was at a friend’s house one night. She had bought a piercing gun and really wanted to try it out… so she asked if she could pierce my ear. I said yes, of course… I’m pretty much spontaneous and don’t think about things probably as much as I should, but that was fun!

The last piercing I got was in my nose, earlier this year. I had sorta kinda been entertaining the idea of it for a while, but didn’t really think I’d get it done. Earlier this year though, my friend asked if I could go with her to get it done, and my boyfriend convinced me that I should do it too. So, I went with my friend, her roommate and my boyfriend and the three of us girls got stuff done. I got a stud on the left side of my nose to balance with my cartilage (on the right).

I think I’m probably done with piercings for a while… or at least, I don’t have any intense desire to get anything else. I don’t think I’d ever get anything else on my face, like lip or eyebrow or whatever… doesn’t really appeal to me. And I’m kind of calming down with the ears anyway, I don’t always wear all of them (although that probably has a lot to do with the fact that I’m constantly losing earrings). Anyway, you never know!

I’m going to answer this question in two parts, so I’ll leave you with this for now and post about my tattoo later today!

Day 1: Your middle name, and how you feel about it.

Taylor.

I love my middle name. When I was younger, I hated it… I always thought it sounded like a boy, and I wished it was different. But as I got older that all changed. My middle name is special— it’s meaningful, it’s close to me, and it represents family. Taylor was my great-grandmother’s last name, and it’s my mother’s middle name. I have cousins with this middle name or first name. My sister used this for one of her girls as a middle name. It’s all over my mom’s side of the family, and I love that. I also grew to just love the name itself. I think it’s beautiful. When I start having kids, I plan to use this as one of their middle names, or possibly a first name. I hope it continues to be carried down through our family < 3