TATTOO TUESDAY: There is a Light that Never Goes Out

Photo By Audrey Kelly/The Chameleon.

By Audrey Kelly
Chameleon Tattoo Blogger

This week I thought I would tell you all about my good friend Jessica Snype and her ink (as I didn’t actually have to interview her because I enabled her when it came to getting her tattoo).

This is her only tattoo (for now…) and it’s a quote and the title of The Smith’s song “There is a light that never goes out.” This is her all time favorite song by her all time favorite band (seriously, you should see the play count these guys have on her iTunes).

It all started when she was six and her mother would take her and her sister to Wisconsin. The Smiths were always on in the car so she’s always connected them to that time. As she got older, Jessica started listening to other music (like NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys, embarrassing, she knows).

But, she eventually grew out of that poor music taste (like we all hopefully did) and started listening to The Smiths again; “Everything about them is great, I could talk about them for hours,” she adds.

She notes that she really could have chosen any other Morrissey, The Smiths’ vocalist, quote really, but this one is extremely important to her. In her understanding of it, “these words are that beacon of hope that’s always there, a good reminder to always have with me.”

Funny enough, she admits she stole the placement of her tattoo from yours truly. She liked my rationale for it, like a “note to self.” She says it’s important having it there because this tattoo is personal for her; she got it only for herself, no one else.

And we agree that the inside of your forearm can be a very powerful place to put something so permanent on your body. She can keep that message close to her, and moments like sitting in class it can serve as a reminder of its message that’s always there.

“It’s mine,” she says.

And that reason gave me goose bumps. Perhaps because I completely understand what she means. But think about it, a lifelong note to self is extremely powerful. On the darkest days it sometimes may be easy to forget that “there is a light that never goes out.”

Catch Audrey’s “Tattoo Tuesday” posts every Tuesday.