First of all I want to say that this contest is so cool! I love looking at great tattoos! So for my entry, I wanted to show one of my most meaningful tattoos for you. This is the memorial tattoo that I got for my father after he passed in 2017. The design is original, thought up by me and drawn by my artist Erin Bowden, and the words have his ashes mixed in with the ink.

My parents divorced when I was only 15 and when my mother made it clear that I was unwanted by her, he and I moved to Missouri. He was the only family I had left and was always right by my side, hence the sword. Because a fighter is only as good as his weapon, and my father was my sword in life. Always there for me and willing to help me fight my own battles. The message "Be Happy Love Dad" is one he wrote to me on my wedding day, and is his original handwriting. I also wanted it to have a biker look since he loved Harley's. And I wanted an old sailor look since he was in the Navy. So I tried to mix the two to honor him.

My father battled cancer for many years, even living for 2 and a half years after the doctors gave him only weeks to live after finding the cancer. He fought so hard to squeeze every last drop of life despite the pain he was feeling everyday. He is the strongest and most loving person I have ever met and I miss him more than anything. This tattoo is something that I can look at whenever I am missing him, and with his ashes in the ink, I feel that I have him with me always. As I did when he was alive. The three skulls represent life, death, and afterlife. Plus I just love skulls, since our bones are all we leave behind in this world. The blue was put in because his favorite color was blue. Although most of my tattoos are important to me, I find myself looking at this one everyday and finding a small amount of comfort in it.

Good luck to everyone, and I can't wait to see more awesome tats!