My name is Jessica, and I'm The Domestic Pirate, Renn Faire Privateer Gone Mom. I started blogging as an outlet for PPD but came back into my cooking, laughing, reading, dancing, sometimes cleaning, laughing, singing, spazzy, wenchy Pirate self upon the epiphany that I didn't need to mold myself after anyone else but me. I post about whatever tickles my fancy; kid stuff, diy projects, clean eating, and societal issues, but I feel like empowerment and acceptance are where I really hit my stride.
"Being Inked Is My Superpower"
I am so excited to be doing my first ever blog post for Miss Ginger's 10,000th page view, and honored to be featured this week among some pretty awesome women.
My father in law is incredibly opinionated. Whose father in law isn't, right? When the Captain and I started dating seriously I had just gotten my second tattoo, in memory of my Uncle. My first tattoo is one that my parents and I worked on together to design to represent our family. Father in law let me know, in no uncertain terms, that he thinks people who get tattoos get them to compensate for their insecurities.
I was devastated. Here was this man, who had so much more life experience than me, who I still didn't know what to think of other than "I hope he likes me," immediately pegging me as insecure and trying to compensate for it because I chose to mark my body forever in a manner similar to the way my family and Uncle had marked my soul.
Now, I have been tattooed for 9 years, and have a total of 7, with a long list of the others I would like to add. And here's what I have come to accept about my tattooed self:
My tattoos do not define me. They are like the illustrations on a book cover. They might give you an idea of who I am, my beliefs, and the things that are dear to me, but they are not the whole story. It is easy for some to look at the art I have chosen to wear on my body for the rest of my life and think that I am compensating for something, or trying to draw attention away from the parts of me I may not be 100% comfortable with. In actuality, it is quite the opposite. I am one of those who love to be approached about my ink. If you have a question about what it is, what it says, who tattooed it, what it means to me, I will talk your face off about it. Which will give you opportunity to notice my chipped front tooth, my crooked nose, and my rough skin. If I choose to show you some of my less exposed tattoos, you may see scars on my back, stretchmarks, my thighs that rub together, and possibly my muffin top.
Are those things someone compensating for their insecurities would do?
If anything, my tattoos have made me more confident. Like wearing your favorite accessory every day, only there is no one else in this world that has the same exact accessory as me. My convictions in the things that I have chosen to wear on my body forever make me more secure.
You don't decorate a room, or showcase a project that you're ashamed of. Why would I put decorations on a body I felt insecure about?
This is who I am, ink, piercings, and all.
My tattoos do not define me.
