Tattoos. An ever-growing artistic industry that seems to have no end in sight. How do you feel about tattoos? I've heard that millennials are the most tattooed generation. Personally, I love tattoos! If you have tattoos, I will stare at them for a while. I'll probably also ask you about them if I can't figure out what it is or what it's for. Don't be alarmed. I'm just admiring your permanent artwork.

All of us who have tattoos get them for various reasons. Sometimes it's to commemorate the life a loved one, to remind ourselves of something we hold close, to show a sense of community, to become walking canvases, to show our self-love, to remember to stay positive in tough times, to follow trends, and believe it or not, to relieve pain or stress. Sometimes the process of getting a tattoo can be a therapy session.

No matter your reasoning for getting a tattoo, we all get asked the same question, "What's your tattoo for?" If you're anything like me, you could sit there for hours and talk about your tattoos. When I get asked this question, I get excited. I want to describe and give my reasoning for my latest tattoo which you've just seen in the picture above.

So far, the first thing that comes to people's minds when the see it is, "Bring your own food," and I say, "Yes, that's exactly what it is!" Then I laugh and reassure them that's not it at all. To put it in simplest terms, B.Y.O.F, stands for, Be Your Own Friend. The letters are mirrored because what you put into the mirror you get out of the mirror. The red box around the letters is negative and it symbolizes your comfort zone. The thin black line that wraps around my arm is positive and it symbolizes the tough yet fragile route out of your comfort zone. The black line wraps around my arm and connects itself back into the red box because its a repetitive cycle we live in as humans.

When I tell people that, they're like, "Woah that's so complex and deep."

To give a little background on why I got it, I'll take you back a few months. I had just transferred to a new college and at this time I was on a journey of self-discovery. I just started to try and throw myself into things that seemed like I could benefit from. I joined some clubs on campus and started meeting new people and making new friends. I also added a minor in psychology because it's honestly really fascinating but also, I wanted to go into my own head and figure out somethings about what's happened in my life and why my thought process is the way it is. Just looking to discover more about myself.

The fall semester came and went and had me feeling okay with some things in life. When the spring semester started, I had begun to get even more involved on campus, and eventually I found a great group of friends who I found myself hanging out with whenever I could.

As I started to do more, my schedule became a bit more hectic. I am a commuter, so I was driving back and fourth from campus to work to home, back to campus and then home again, and anywhere else I needed to be. I was fine with all the traveling and everything that was starting to fill up my schedule, but I had realized I had started to forfeit some other things while trying to have a social life, more academics, work, and everything else. My eating habits weren't the greatest and I was also going through other things that add to the stressful life of a college age young adult. I felt like I was eating at Wawa (the best convenience/general store if you're lucky enough to be in a state that has them) so much! I felt like in a way I was slightly neglecting my body mentally and physically.

After a while of feeling like this I had a quote run through my mind. Be your own friend. B.Y.O.F. Now, this was around the time that I get a tattoo every year and so when I said that in my head, my mind went straight to a tattoo. For some reason, with all my tattoos, I know exactly where I want them. Creating them is a different story. I've always drawn all my own tattoos and I did the same for this one.

I started to sketch out different ideas and I thought of the mirrored effect as I was in front of a mirror at the time. I liked it and the meaning it carried with it, so I stuck with that. The day before I got the tattoo, I got the idea of the box and line around it. At that time, I didn't know what it meant but for some reason it called to me and I decided to get it. Red was also something I always wanted in a tattoo, and I didn't know why I wanted the color of the box to be red, but it just made sense in my mind. A few hours before I got it done, all of the meaning came to me and I fell in love with the design and meaning.

Needless to say, I am very pleased with how it turned out and it just adds to the reason I love tattoos even more! I like the fact that I can have something I've created and that I adore with me forever. Most of my tattoos are to symbolize what I've been through and learned along the way. The others are for loved ones or just because I like the design, and it fits me.

As of right now, I am at six, and I have no desire to stop getting them in the near future.

What's your tattoo for?