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Olivia O’Brien tattooed the word “EVENTUALLY” on the back of her wrist in April 2018 as a reminder that everything gets better with time. “This tattoo means so much to me, even tho I decided what I was gonna get literally 10 mins before I got it,” she wrote. “I just immediately knew it was perfect. Now every time I look at it I’m reminded that no matter what, I will be happy eventually.”
Kyra Santoro has “LOA” inked on her left ankle. LOA stands for “Law of Attraction” which is something she believes strongly in. Law of Attraction is the idea that people focusing on positive thoughts, your positive energy will bring good experiences into your life; and dwelling on negativity will do the opposite.
Cierra Ramirez appeared at Wango Tango on June 2, 2018 with a never before seen tattoo on her arm. The fresh ink is of the French saying “La Vie en Rose” which means “Life in Pink.” It is an analogy for seeing things optimistically, as through rose-colored glasses. The words are tattooed in thin capital letters on the back of her upper right arm.
Woah Vicky has an uplifting Christian tattoo on the inside of her right elbow. Four minimalist red ink symbols – a sun, waves, mountains, and a cross – represent the lyrics “There is hope, should oceans rise and mountains fall, He’ll never fail” from Hillsong United’s song “Take Heart.” Artist Noel Shiveley designed the symbols which are a popular tattoo.
Selena Gomez and the cast of 13 Reasons Why got matching semicolon ( ; ) tattoos in April 2017. She served as one of the executive producers for the Netflix television show, based on the book by Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. It tells the fictional story of a high school student named Hannah Baker who sadly dies by suicide and leaves behind a series of tapes addressed to the people who hurt her explaining where her life went wrong.
The semicolon has become a symbol of suicide prevention through the work of the non-profit organization Project Semicolon. They chose the symbol because it represents a place where a sentence could have stopped but didn’t, making it a fitting metaphor for someone’s life which could have ended in suicide but doesn’t have to. The organization describes itself as a “movement dedicated to presenting hope and love for those who are struggling with mental illness, suicide, addiction and self-injury.” They remind people that things can get better with their slogan “your story is not over.”
Selena’s tattoo is a show of support, letting those who are struggling know that things don’t have to end on a low note. She herself has struggled with anxiety and depression and knows firsthand that things can get better. She is a advocate of therapy, particularly Dialectical Behavior Therapy. “DBT has completely changed my life,” she told Vogue. “I wish more people would talk about therapy.”
In a special Beyond The Reasons episode that plays after the final episode of the show, Selena addresses viewers and encourages them to seek help for their troubles rather than resorting to suicide:
Suicide should never, ever be an option…It’s absolutely treatable. Anxiety is. Depression is. Talk therapy, treatment centers, there’s a million ways that you can find help…There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying that you need help. And if you need help at all you can go to 13reasonswhy.info to find an organization in your area.
The show 13 Reasons Why has come under fire from some critics who allege that it glorifies suicide. The character Hannah Baker could have opened up about her traumas and betrayals and sought counseling instead of taking her own life. However Selena has defended the series for being real and honest about the issues that teenagers today are forced to confront. She fell instantly in love with the “tragically beautiful” story after reading the book and hopes that the show will help people to get the help that they need.
Selena got her tattoo alongside Alisha Boe, who plays Jessica, and Tommy Dorfman, who plays Ryan. They were already planning to get the tattoos on their own, but when Selena heard about their plans she asked to join. Two of the other executive producers, Joy Gorman Wettels and Kristel Laiblin, had gotten semicolon tattoos a week before.
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Kehlani showed off a new tattoo on the back of her left calf on her instagram in July 2016. It says “Today Is the Best Day Ever.”
One of Ruby Rose’s most discreet tattoos is the word “Smile” on the left side of her ribcage, which is hardly ever shown off.
Chloe Ferry has a tattoo of a chicken drumstick on her left middle finger. Even though it’s silly, she explained that the tattoo keeps her optimistic. “The reason a got the chicken tattoo is when ever am down a just think you can get chicken nuggets from macdonalds for 2.99,” she tweeted. (more…)
Marzia got this tattoo on her left forearm in September 2015. The writing, which says “La casa sulla luna” in her native language Italian, means “The house on the moon” in English. It’s a phrase from the book We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, which has helped Marzia to deal with her social anxiety. The house on the the moon is a metaphor for a feeling of safety. On her blog she explained:
But this topic brings me to the next tattoo: “La casa sulla luna”, which translated is “The house on the moon”.
This refers to my social anxiety: once again, you know I struggle with it, and it used to be really really bad. This sentence comes from one of my favourite books, “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”, where the protagonist, after going through a tragedy, can never leave the house without feeling observed and judged by people.
If you have social anxiety you know that feeling very well: as soon as you leave your safe place, it feels like everybody is staring at you, and you just want to hide from the world.
In the story, the girl would imagine her safe place in her head (the house on the moon) while being outside, just so that thought could be somewhat comforting to her. And so I tried it myself, I would think about it as well while leaving the house, or when I was in uncomfortable situations, and it helped me greatly.
That’s why it’s on my body, it’s a constant reminder that I can do it, it’s all in my head, and if I think about positive things instead of letting my dark thoughts come to mind, everything will be fine.
Gabriella DeMartino’s wrist tattoo says “once upon a time…” which is the first line of most fairy tales.
She kept quiet about the meaning of the tattoo for a while because it’s so deeply personal. She got it for herself and didn’t feel like she owed an explanation to anyone else. But she finally felt ready to talk about it in a May 2017 vlog, where she explained that the tattoo covers up old scars from cutting herself and reminds her that there can be new beginnings. She was sick of seeing reminders of the dark times in her past and wanted instead to see a positive and uplifting message.
So basically at the beginning of every book it says ‘once upon a time.’ Growing up in high school I was bullied severely. I would cut myself. I have scars all over my wrists, it’s disgusting. I’m not proud of it….It’s a place where I really want to fill up with tattoos because I don’t like what’s on there. I don’t like seeing it. I want a better reminder….I thought it would be wonderful if every time I look down on my wrist I don’t see scars, but I see the beginning lines of a story. And that is ‘once upon a time.’ It’s just a reminder that if I ever feel that low again — which I hope I don’t — it’s a reminder that it’s still the beginning. And it’s up to you if you want to end your chapter, or if you want to add another chapter. I don’t know about you guys but I am totally down for a ton of other chapters.
Her hard times in high school were just one brief chapter of her life, even though it didn’t feel that way at the time. Gabi encouraged any viewers who might be thinking about self-harming to stay positive:
I wish I never did it. To those of you who are going through anything hard, please don’t do it. It may seem bad now but everything is going to be better later on, I promise. When you’re in high school you’re stuck in this little world and you think that all that exists is in that high school, but when you graduate high school there is SO much — so much! And that was just one little portion of your life and one little portion of your world. But in high school it feels like that’s all you know. It’s really easy to get wrapped into all that stuff.
