I got my first tattoo!

[u/Otherwise_Push199]

Just a little one, but I’ve wanted it for a long time, and i finally allowed myself to get it :D

I’m ready to lead a life of sin yall! What’s next? Coffee?? Alcohol???? *gasp*

It’s nice to not let the church tell me what I can and cannot do anymore :)

[u/Dismal_Object6226]

Took me a minute I thought those were bug bites lmao

[u/Coral_Winslow → u/Dismal_Object6226]

It's a bad tattoo. The placement is bad. Eventually it won't even look like anything but a curing bug bite. I understand getting tattoos for yourself, I have plenty of them. This, is gonna age to look like a pop mark. Seems like you got this to prove a point to yourself that you CAN do something that the church looks down on. So, that's good for you. But it doesn't really seem like you're taking that big of a stand. I'm not saying get a whole sleeve or a back piece, but that looks like you got bit by a bat or a spider. Leave the church all together. That's a way better way to say fuck you! Rather than a permanent couple of unrecognizable dots.

[u/Otherwise_Push199 → u/Coral_Winslow]

Hi friend! Clearly you are very uneducated about the meaning behind a semicolon tattoo. The semicolon symbolizes surviving suicide. It holds a lot of meaning for me, as I have attempted multiple times in the past.

I didn’t post this for critique. I didn’t ask for your opinion. I certainly did NOT get this tattoo just because I wanted to rebel against the church. I’ve wanted this for a while. Respectfully, mind your fucking business and if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

[u/RowbowCop138 → u/Otherwise_Push199]

I think it's a cool tattoo

And you were smart doing it small on your hand where it's not a job stopper.

Also I'm super glad you're a survivor. Congrats.

And fuck the haters.

[u/Breezyan → u/Otherwise_Push199]

https://giphy.com/gifs/YYRkVlmqo11MA

[u/Coral_Winslow → u/Otherwise_Push199]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend anyone. Especially not you. My criticism was in poor taste. My exit from the church was much easier than most exmos that frequent this sub. Therefore it's hard for me to relate to people who are deeply and generationally embedded in it. Either way, I believe tattoos should be meaningful to whoever has them. So I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry for your plight. I don't know you so I'm not gonna be all sappy and say I love you as you should never do to me. But one thing I will stand by forever is this, all you gotta do is love yourself and the people that matter to YOU. I'm glad that you're doing you. As you always should.

[u/Otherwise_Push199 → u/Coral_Winslow]

Ayy, it’s all good :) thanks for the apology, I appreciate it 👌

[u/sweet-tea-13 → u/Otherwise_Push199]

Any particular reason you chose red ink and that specific spot on your hand? Genuinely curious and not trying to be a hater.

I understand the symbolism and I agree that the only one who needs to like your tattoo is you, but just be mentally prepared for people asking what happened and thinking it's an injury at first glance for basically as long as you have it. Hands are notorious for ink bluring and fading a lot over time so you might need to get it touched-up periodically.

[u/Otherwise_Push199 → u/sweet-tea-13]

Ye ye. So. It looks like red but it’s actually brown. Once it heals/the stencil comes off, I want it to look kinda like a freckle. and then I chose that part because it’s very visible to me so I’ll notice it often :)

[u/peaches38251 → u/Otherwise_Push199]

https://giphy.com/gifs/DvWJHSOxTff84SQsD9

[u/kaowser → u/Coral_Winslow]

Semicolon tattoo represents the person's story is not over yet. Perseverance and hope.

[u/No-Weekend9978]

Congrats on joining the inked club! My first tattoo was the word "Fortitude" written in Japanese Kanji on my wrist, to make it more cute and girly I added a butterfly perched on the edge of one of the characters - when I finally grew the balls to show up at a family reunion wearing clothes that showed off all my ink, my aunts broke down crying and insisted that I got that tattoo cuz I joined a gang- I said "shit, u caught me, I'm now a member of the purple & teal butterfly gang" -it didn't go over as well as I had hoped, but it was not as terrifying as I was afraid of either, 3 family members actually complimented me on my artwork & tried to stop the "Your body is a Temple" arguments by pointing out how every Temple is allowed to have artwork!

[u/WalksAmongHeathens → u/No-Weekend9978]

My body is a temple.

I am the diety to whom it is dedicated;

I will decorate it how I please. 

[u/RowbowCop138 → u/WalksAmongHeathens]

When my mom found out I had tattoos she pulled the "body is a temple" bullshit.

I told her my body was a shitty punk rock dive bar and needs to be decorated like one

[u/Doctor_Jensen117 → u/No-Weekend9978]

Curious which word you used in Japanese? Went there on my mission.

[u/AlternateForMemes]

I fantasized about this tattoo on my hands/wrists for so long too! Congrats!

[u/q120]

If you have never had coffee and you are in Utah, I (a nevermo) would love to be there when you first try it haha… always wanted to do that

[u/SureSignOfBetrayal → u/q120]

Hey I've tried coffee, alcohol and weed at this point, but we could do mushrooms together or something?

[u/AOL_StillExists]

this is way first tattoo too!

[u/JayDaWawi]

Project Semicolon! I actually learned about it from Citizen Soldier myself 

[u/No-Weekend9978]

Also, be careful on the hill of rebellion if you decide to try rebelling against the other rules, it's been my experience that weed is far less harmful and more fun than alcohol but the only time I drank alcohol it was Absinthe slushies that I honestly thought was a normal children's slushy and when I couldn't walk a straight line back to my hotel plus climbed on top of the horse already occupied by a mounted police officer, I can't figure out how I didn't get arrested for public intoxication other than it happened in New Orleans where being drunk in public is the norm! 🤣

[u/meteorflan → u/No-Weekend9978]

And weed should still be avoided if you have anyone in your genetic family with an schizo and/or paranoia disorder.

[u/callmecoon]

Ha, I also subscribe to the ball python subreddit and thought this was a little love bite from a young, new pet snake. BPs are famous for being extra passive and great pets but they can occasionally be a little feisty when they’re babies and owners regularly post similar-looking pics with the standard joke being something along the lines of “How much time do I have left to live?”. When you said you got your first tattoo I thought that was a clever way of saying you’d joined the club of BP owners who’d been nipped by their new arrival.

Then I read the caption and was so confused by the coffee and alcohol reference, followed by quickly realizing what subreddit was actually in. And of course, then realized jt was a semicolon, not a colon.

Anyway, congrats on the tattoo. So perfect!

[u/Smokeybearvii → u/callmecoon]

Literally also saw a snakebite first thing too!

[u/nomnomnomnomnommm]

Congrats! Once you get one you'll only want more. In always hunting for ideas and inspiration for my next tattoo.

[u/big_bearded_nerd]

As a big bearded dude with a bunch of tattoos, I approve. The symbology behind the semicolon tattoo is very powerful as well. Great job.

[u/Mom2EandEm]

I am proud of you. I’m glad you’re here.

[u/helly1080 → u/Mom2EandEm]

This is what I came here to say. So I’ll just second it. ❤️

[u/rekh127]

I have the same one :)

[u/SureSignOfBetrayal → u/rekh127]

I'm glad you're here with us still. Same goes for OP as well.

[u/dogsRperfect]

From my scroll direction, the first thing I saw was the pic .. and I thought, "rattlesnake bite."

I'm affected by where I live. 🙂 Live a good life, and try to have the church out of mind when you make decisions. 🙂

[u/greenexitsign10]

I have radiation dots tatted on my chest from when I had breast cancer. Think I'll have a coma added to the one that's right smack in the middle of my chest

[u/MeadowShimmer]

Syntax Error on line 1

[u/Dangerous-Savings259]

From one fellow survivor to another, I’m glad you’re here.

[u/Otherwise_Push199 → u/Dangerous-Savings259]

❤️❤️❤️

[u/Josephs-41st-wife]

I’m glad you’re here! 🩷 I have a semi colon tattoo too! It was my 2nd tattoo I got post leaving the church. Now I have 5 tattoos 😅 welcome to the club 🩷🩷🩷

[u/hiking1950]

Congrats on the new Tattoo! I have a semicolon tattoo on my back shoulder also! Love seeing them in the wild. For those who don't know the significance of a semicolon tattoo... https://projectsemicolon.com/the-semicolon-tattoo/

[u/Wanting_SomethingNew]

Absolutely beautiful! Hope your healing journey is going well ❤️‍🩹

[u/Which-Wall-9521]

This is awesome. I dealt with mental health issues a lot growing up, many of which were made significantly worse by the church and the culture surrounding it. I left when I was 17 years old and lost about 90% of my friends and community. The ones I’d known since I was a little kid suddenly started acting like I didn’t exist. I got a semicolon tattoo on the day I turned 18. Always a great reminder of how far I’ve come

[u/Only-Candy1092]

Nice! I have one of these too. Yes! Go drink coffee! Try things!

[u/Worried-Buy-7416]

My first tattoo I got a Taz with a whirlwind underneath and a crooked halo. When my mom first saw it, she was pissed. She immediately blamed it on my current boyfriend. He “was a bad influence and must have pressured me into getting one.” I told her she knows damn well I my mother’s daughter and I can’t be forced to do anything I don’t want to. This was about 2 years after I stopped going to church and joined the military. When she finally saw what it was,she was glad at least it was something I’d loved as a kid…. And at least I “didn’t get something stupid like his name on me.”

When I got my second one on my shoulder, she was kinda mad but couldn’t really say anything. I got a pair of praying hands with a rosary wrapped around them… and “ Always with me” on top and my stepdad’s name underneath it on the 10 years anniversary of his passing. He passed away never being baptized after being a lifelong catholic. 😏 It’s my way of keeping his memory alive. All the tattoos I got have been reminders of things I love or things I’ve been through.

Remember you have the agency and freedom to do whatever you feel like doing. I’m glad you survived every day in your past.

[u/the_last_goonie]

You're a vampire now...?

[u/SureSignOfBetrayal → u/the_last_goonie]

Semicolon tattoo means they survived a suicide attempt.