I’ve always wanted tattoos. Mainly because they look cool but also because they are a way to blend natural beauty of your own body with the beauty you can create with your mind. It’s mixing nature with the unnatural to create a blend of the two. My plan was to get one as soon as I turned 18, knowing that neither of my parents would sign a waver allowing me to get one before I turned 18. At first I didn’t mind if it meant anything, simply appreciating art that would forever be a part of me and age with me. It was soon five months until I turned 18 and I began noticing the idea that life is circular and repeats itself, going ‘full circle,’ began to crop up a lot in my life. I was dealing with an enormous amount of emotional weight, constantly in a state of processing and trying to grapple with life in a way I had not before. My mum’s family is Iranian, and ever since I was little, we would celebrate Norooz, or Persian New Year. Part of this celebration includes a table on which we lay out seven things to represent different aspects of life, one of which is a goldfish, representing eternal life. Thinking back to this, I had found what I wanted my first tattoo to be.
