“To infinity” on the left wrist, “and beyond” on the right. Four words that are barely noticeable unless you already know they are there. Not small, but done in white ink, because “I wanted it to only appeal to me.” It’s done in a loose script, much like the Segoe Script font in Microsoft Word. At first the white ink looks almost like a scratch, until you realize it spells out words. The tattoo spans about two and a half inches on the inside of either wrist, the tallest letters just under an inch high. Though it looks as if it might be slightly raised, the tattoo is smooth to the touch.
Jake and I have been friends since our freshman year of high school. He is six feet and three inches tall. He has long brown hair that falls in the perfect skater-flow, swooping to the side in a messy yet gorgeous way. His eyes are the color of the Atlantic Ocean, and his straight, white smile makes girls swoon. It doesn’t help that Jake is the type of person who never stops smiling. He is always in a good mood and likely to brighten anyone’s day. Like many of my peers, Jake decided to get a tattoo soon after he turned eighteen. He said he had been thinking about it for a while, and spent a lot of time deciding what to get and where to get it. At first, he had planned on getting a typical black tattoo, but he fell in love with the idea of white ink when he was browsing tattoo ideas online. When it was done, he said, “It was even better than I imagined.”
The quote Jake chose was not just because he loves Toy Story. Knowing Jake, and knowing how long he spent pondering different tattoo ideas, I figured it had a deeper meaning. I just was not sure of what it was. When I asked him what the tattoo meant to him, he answered “It means to push myself past the point of exhaustion and to never give up even if you’ve gone the opposite direction. Not only that, it tells me of my past, my joyful childhood, and all the memories that made me, me.” After hearing his explanation, I understood completely.
I am not usually a fan of tattoos. I think that unless they hold some deep meaning or significance, it’s a waste to have it permanently inked into your skin. Many of the tattoos my peers were getting after their eighteenth birthdays were rushed and held no meaning, so I liked few of them. Jake’s, however, I liked. It was important to him, and it fit well with his personality. I enjoy the subtlety of the white ink. His tattoo helped me decide that if I were to ever choose something to permanently place on my body, I would probably get it done in white ink. Of all the tattoos I have ever seen, Jake’s is one of my favorites.
