When my brothers and I were young we decided that we needed to continue the tradition that our father started. When he was 18 he got a tattoo of a bald eagle. To carry on this tradition we decided that we would all get tattoos of birds on our 18th birthdays . It was after my father read My Side of the Mountain to me, when I was seven, that I decided that I would get a tattoo of of a peregrine falcon. My older brother got his first tattoo of a parrot when he was 21. Two years ago, when I was 20, my brothers and I decided take a trip to Lark Street Tattoo in Albany where we would each get our bird tattoos. My younger brother designed his tattoo of an owl. I picked out a picture of an peregrine falcon in flight. I knew I wanted the falcon on my left shoulder to honor my dad, who is left-handed. – Andrew Pacuk
My tattoo represents my love for horses. I was four when I first fell in love with horses. My dad got me a pony that year and there was no going back. Since then I have owned many horses, all of them teaching me something different about horsemanship. With each passing year I grow as a rider, and as a horse owner. Horses have changed my life and made me who I am today. Every rider has that special horse that changes everything about them – Stella is that special horse for me. Stella’s a live wire; she had no desire to listen to me. I spent a year working for her trust and respect and looking back, I know that she made me a better trainer. All the blood, sweat, and tears bonded us. I know she would follow me anywhere and I would do anything for her. She is the best part of me. My tattoo is mainly for Stella; she is with me everywhere I go.- Christina Barton
Hi I’m Ellie and this is my tattoo. It was done by a great friend of mine, Cori Sanders, at Kingdom Ink in Craftsbury, Vermont. It means a lot to me because the tattoo is of the footprints of animals that inspire and amaze me. Moose prints because of their size and rarity, Bear prints for the bear country I grew up in, and otter prints because of their playful nature. Simple pine trees for the beautiful Adirondacks.- Ellie Congden
Growing up in a Christian household wasn’t my favorite. The religion was forced down my throat by my mother and it was very uncomfortable. It had me questioning the existence of Jesus Christ.
It wasn’t until recently that I actually started developing a relationship with God and his son Jesus. The love I now have for My Father, and the love he has for me is as simple and beautiful as my cross tattoo.- Halle M. Lowry
Back on August 5, 2015 I decided to mark all of the upcoming changes in my life with a tattoo. This was two days before my 10-day sightseeing trip out west. When I returned from this journey I had one day to pack before leaving home again – this time to go away to college. I chose to get a wolf tattoo to represent my admiration for the animal and for my love of the outdoors.- Jessi McCarty
I have a tattoo of a simplistic mountain range. The mountains are where I feel most at home. The mountains provide a place of escape, and spiritual enlightenment. I love being in the Adirondack Mountains and intend to spend most of my life after college in the Sierra Nevada’s out West.- Josh Beuschlein
I have six tattoos, all of which I have drawn myself. My tattoos are special to me because they all have a unique meaning. The one I treasure the most would have to be the tatoo on my back. It’s composed of three skulls with sunglasses and blue eyes. They represent me and my two brothers and how the bond between us all will never end. Eventually the skulls will have full skeletons that will go down my back.- Korey Reynolds
This is a safety pin I gave myself to represent my DIY lifestyle. I feel really strongly about creating things with my own hands that I can use to express myself.- Dana Ser
Hi my name is Ryan Barnhart and I’m a freshman studying ecological forest management. My tattoo is of a Native American Indian with two wolves. I got this tattoo because it resembles my family past, which is Native American. I believe that my Native American heritage has helped me embrace the outdoors and has helped me understand more about nature.- Ryan Barnhart
I got this tattoo because I’ll never forget the important people in my life who have either lost their battle to cancer, or who have beat the odds and are still around to tell the tale. The pink stands for breast cancer, the white is for lung cancer, and the yellow is for bone cancer.- Zach Lamb
The tattoo of ‘regret nothing’ I got for a not-good reason, you could say. Some days I wish I could take it back, but then again, that would go against its meaning. However, this reminds me every day that whatever happens, it happens for a reason and no matter what you can’t let it bring you down.-Zach Lamb
Finally I have the Celtic knot. I got this for my Irish heritage and the religious meaning it has.- Zach Lamb
I received my first tattoo on my 18th birthday. To me this tattoo means that through and through I’m the same person on the inside as I am on the outside. I have nothing to hide and I don’t change who I am based on who’s around. I am who I am, and part of that is a patriot.-Zach Morris
The umbrella tattoo is a tribute to my grandmother, who I am very close to. Every night that I would stay at her house she would sing old-time songs with me. Each element of this tattoo represents a song that we would sing together. The bluebird is from the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. The “P.S” is from the song “P.S I love you.” The umbrella itself is from the song “Pennies from Heaven,” and one of the lines says “Make sure that your umbrella is upside down,” so that you can catch the pennies. The music notes signify that they are all songs.- Amanda Preston
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better – it’s not.
I got this tattoo because it’s from my favorite book, The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss. It reminds me of the camp that I worked at for five years. I also performed the Lorax for a year for my schooling so it reminds me of my roots. This quote inspires me to try my best no matter the odds, and it reminds my of my future goals.
The constellation on my right is Hercules. This is for my brother, who has proven to be much stronger than I ever thought possible for someone so young.
The constellation on my right is Pyxis. This is for my sister, who shines bright enough to guide me out of my dark days.- Thom Tomaszewski
The Wild has been calling me for many years; I have finally answered. – Thom Tomaszewski
For many years, I was so afraid of losing the people around me; I was afraid to be alone. I put so much energy into making them happy that I lost myself. I gave myself this tattoo, and promised myself that I would never pretend to be someone I wasn’t in order to keep people around me. I am not afraid to walk this world alone anymore.- Thom Tomaszewski
My name is Allison Lewis and I have two meaningful tattoos. My first tattoo is on my back and it stands for all the obstacles I have overcome in my life and all the ones I still have yet to face. The saying is a part of a bible verse that reads ‘I will soar on wings like eagles I will run and not grow weary.’ To me this means that I will never give up no matter how hard life gets, and this will help make me soar.- Allison Lewis
My second tattoo is a memorial tattoo for my first pet, Daisy. I had her since I was two and she passed away my senior year of high school. The words ‘love always’ stand not only for the fact that I will always love her, but also strive to love myself always. These words hit me hard at 16. I wrote them on my arm in red and black sharpie and kept writing them for two weeks straight. I still find myself writing them today on paper, but now I have them tattooed to my body as a constant reminder to always love.- Allison Lewis