“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
I sat on my bed, legs crossed, huddled in a Winnie the Pooh blanket and sipping on a cup of coffee that was growing cold in my desperate caffeine clutch. I stared blankly at the TV show “Ink Master,” as it shocked the screen with color.
It is all about tattoo artists who compete to prove themselves worthy of being called the “Ink Master.” While I watched some crappy artists misspell and screw up tattoos, I contemplated my own future tattoos.
People have been getting tattoos for ages and for every reason in the book: religion, tradition, status, representation, or dumb drunk epiphanies.
I want tattoos of things that mean something to me. I drew a blank at something that inspired me enough to permanently mark my body. But then it hit me, like a brick to the face, it hit me.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
This comes from Matthew 5:14, it has been spoken by politicians like Ronald Reagan, and John Winthrop used it to inspire the Puritans. It reminds me that I’m always watched, always criticized, and always looked up to, so in this respect I will conduct myself accordingly.
Do not get me wrong. I do not mean that I’ll be the perfect, mild-mannered, picturesque girl that my grandmother expects me to be. Iwill be me. I will set an example for my unborn sons and daughters to never be held back.
Be ballsy: shave your head and don’t tell your parents. Be unstoppable: run until you can’t breathe and get lost. Be determined: stay up all night working on something you love, then skip school to catch up on homework.
Be you.