Three years of dedication paid off!

As a teen every so often we had early release day on Thursdays.  Every early release day my friend Angela and I would either go to Goodwill and Salvation Army (to shop) or walk down Bird Rd which was a main road by our school that was pretty saturated with tattoo shops.  We always ended up visiting one shop the most.  The people were cool, it was very clean, they were around the end of our trip and had kickin' AC and a comfy couch LOL.  I was about 17 when I asked the owner for an apprenticeship.  He spoke about wanting to open another shop at the end of the summer and I should call back then to see.  I figured I would be almost 18 by then and hopefully I could get away with it.  When the time came, he said he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about :c/  Despite this I still felt more comfortable in this shop than any other.  Once I turned 18 I came in to get my first proper tattoo.  My first was the 34 stars I have from my shoulder to my lower back. These I got from the flea market when I was 17.  I was determined to get it before I was 18 because of some unknown wanting to be "cool" type of reason.  Now I have amazing tattoos and wish it was gone! LOL

 I am just blessed I did not catch any nasty diseases! Any who! I became a very good customer here.  I'm not going to lie, a lot of the guys were cute ;c) One had the only proper pomp I ever saw in person and I had a huge crush.  It's really awkward to talk about now because they became like family but it's only fair I be honest about some of my reasoning he he.  I came in more and more for tattoos, continued to bring my friends and keep my face in their heads.  I grew quite close to one person in particular which was the amazing Maytee Bringas.  Finally one day when I was 20 I got a message from her on Myspace.  They finally opened up the second shop and had me in mind to be apprenticed!!!

Now I should give a little back story.  All through high school I was a very dedicated member of my marching bands Color Guard.  I still love this art til this day and keep my flags to take out and spin from time to time.  In college I was still at it but part of the Independent Winter Guard which is more artistic and I actually really miss it.  I have never been a quitter at anything but had to give this up when I decided to become a piercer.  At the time I was actually the Captain along with another veteran member.  The only reason I did quit, was because the team did not want to be there, they didn't care about our success, and I decided to follow my dream.  Had I not quit on the spot my apprenticeship would have been available to anyone else who wanted it.  Here is a video from the year before I had quit. 

Honestly, as much as everyone hated me at the moment, it was the best decision I ever made.  Maytee is truly the most amazing human being I have ever met.  She was an amazing Mentor and is still a fantastic support system for me today <3  More on the rest of this odyssey another time, I promise we will catch up to my current life soon!  Until next time <3