Tiger Lion Tattoos
Ever since I was a young teenager I always had this fascination of having a tiger tattoo. I can’t really explain the significance or reason behind my urge to have the tattoo but it was something that I knew I wanted to do someday. Of course, having a Cuban mother who frowns upon the mere thought of one, I knew it would be almost impossible. But the impossible became possible on my 25th birthday when I walked into a tattoo parlor in South Beach. I had with me this beautiful tiger picture which I had fallen in love with several years earlier. I always held on to this picture because I knew that one day that would be the tattoo I was going to have. I had already gotten a consultation the day prior with the artist to make sure it was something she could do and of course she could.
During the five hours I sat on that chair enduring slight pain, my husband (boyfriend back then), his sister and her husband all watched in laughter while enjoying jello shots I had made. I was extremely nervous but not because I was enduring pain but more so about not knowing how the tattoo would turn out. We put so much trust on a stranger to do something artistic and permanent on our bodies but don’t really know the actual end result. Luckily for me, my tattoo looked exactly like the picture I took. I was fascinated with my tiger and so excited to have finally checked off one more thing on my bucket list. Many people were shocked by my decision and it took my mom quite a while to accept it but in the end, I was happy. I was so happy with my tattoo that I stepped back into another tattoo shop when I was 32 years old.
This time I was in Los Angeles and took in a lion picture which took two days to finish; one day it took five hours and the other six 🙁 I didn’t have any cheerleaders making me laugh this time around as I was all alone on both days but I still didn’t care. I did feel that same worry feeling of the unknown but my tattoo turned out even more beautiful than what I had expected. I still get asked all the time why I choose those two tattoos or if they have a specific meaning but the truth is that I don’t really know. I don’t have a precise answer as to why I have a fascination with felines or why I wanted to showcase them on my body. They are animals that I have always been attracted to and find them to be one of the most beautiful ones on this earth. Some people believe they are my spirit guides, others say they were a part of my past life and others just think it was mere stupidity. For me, I prefer the spirit guide suggestion…there is something magnificent about the thought that those two beautiful and powerful animals are watching over me.
