For those who wanted to know…

Why I picked a cherry blossom tree for my first tattoo.

In Japanese culture, the cherry blossom is considered the most beautiful of all blooms. Even so, it blooms for a very short period of time, sometimes as short as two days, and then dies away until the next spring. It represents the changing nature of life… how a perceived end can also be a beginning… how everything old can become new, better, stronger.

The last few years I haven’t done much more than tread water. It’s really only been in the last six months or so that I feel like I am finally figuring things out and getting my act together again. I’m opening my mind to new things. I’m making a real effort to break some bad habits and to throw some of my baggage out the window. I’m finally at a point where I feel really good, not about who I am, but about who I am becoming.

I’ve always wanted a tattoo but never felt strongly enough about anything to get it permanently stamped on my body. Until now. The cherry blossom is there to remind me that change can be good. And new beginnings can be even better…