Cancer Sucks

When people think of tattoos the first thing that comes to mind is gang members, alcohol and past relationships. Society thinks this person must want to be on minimum wage for the rest of their life. They say “I've never seen someone in an office with a tattoo, if they do have one they hide it because they know it unacceptable.” 
 When it comes to young people getting tattoos they’re usually meaningless. Mimi had what I like to call the typical girl tattoo. She had all the symptoms.  Cheesy quote. Check. Cheap calligraphy. Check.On the wrist, Check. It seemed like another typical female tattoo. There was no purpose of getting a tattoo. Her only motivation was she had money and an afternoon to waste. I thought she only wanted a tattoo so she could fit in with the crowd. It was a waste of money but  most people would say “Yolo right” it’s my body I’ll do what I want to it. I come from a religious family, I was always taught that your body is a temple and a tattoo is against God’s will.

 Since Mimi is also Christian most people thought something must be wrong with her. She must be leaving the Christian way of life; they judged her before they knew her story. She was shunned. After they understood her reason they were more open to it. I quickly realized I was also wrong. I couldn't imagine a better reason for getting a tattoo. She told me “every night was a struggle.” At first I didn't understand, she seemed like she had it good. Little did I know, in recent year she’s lived through hell. Her mother, Benny, died from cancer. I quickly put the pieces of the puzzle together; Mimi was diagnosed with cancer last year. She has been in and out of the hospital. Her motivation was to be like her mother, a fighter. Seeing a picture of her mother reminded her to keep trying to get better and do everything to be happy. So she tattooed something her mother used to say “through every dark night, there is a brighter day.” Its a constant reminder  that she can over come anything.