Sophomore Daja Shealey got a tree ring tattoo that represents not only her, but her family.

Shealey’s tattoo corresponds with her siblings’ ages.

There are 19 rings in total, which represent her “19th year being alive on this planet.”

The first, the eleventh and the nineteenth ring are all darker than the rest. Each darkened ring represents the birth date of her siblings. She plans to keep adding on to the tattoo by adding more tree rings. For her twenty-first birthday, she will get that one darkened as well.

When asked about the inspiration of her tattoo, she said she had always liked the look and feel of spirals and would constantly draw them.

“It didn’t really look right, so instead I kinda got something that translated into meaning,” said Shealey.

Shealey found the model for her tree ring tattoo after looking around on Pinterest for circular tattoos.

The tree ring is not Shealey’s first tattoo. Shealey also has three nordic ruins on her wrist, which represent victory, protection, and joy.

“You just kind of sit there and it happens and then you’re like ‘oh cool there’s ink on my body that’s going to stay there forever and ever,’”  Shealey said.

Shealey’s advice for people who are thinking about getting a tattoo is to know exactly what you want and sit on the idea for a while.

“Come up with an idea where you look at it everyday,” said Shealey, who also cautioned against getting one spur of the moment.

“Also, take care of your tattoos because I know one of mine is fading, and it makes me really sad to look at it,” Shealey said.

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