The Girl Power Tattoo

I don't look like a girl with tattoos. I mean, it's not like there's a type but if there was it wouldn't be me. When I was a kid I never liked the idea of them. When I was a teenager some of my friends (with the permission of their cool parents) got them. Still, the thought of putting something eternal on my body was never appealing to me.

After moving to London I had no friends and the guy I liked (and worked with) slept with me and never called back. I remember sitting on the grass in some ugly tiny park and looking at the sky. I thought "I wish I could just fly away". Within an hour I was leaving a tattoo studio with an airplane on my hip. It always reminded me that I'm free. That I can fly away whenever I need to.

The story of my second tattoo is not as glamorous. I was drunk in Hollywood, chugged a bottle of wine in a car earlier and had a few overpriced but enormous margaritas in some Mexican bar on Hollywood Blvd. Not glamorous at all! Somehow my friend who by the way is not my friend anymore, convinced me into getting matching tattoos. Of course, drunk me thought it was an amazing idea and let her google 'friendship tattoos ideas'. She found many different designs and out of all of them I decided that Girl Power was the one speaking to me the most. When her rude boyfriend started laughing at me I gave him a whole speech on women empowerment and what Girl Power meant to me. Before I knew, I was coming out of some random studio with a new tattoo placed on my bra line.

Don't get me wrong, I truly meant what I said to that douche but what I realized during the next few months was that he wasn't the only one who thought my tattoo was tacky or silly. The disapproval was so strong to the point every time I said I had a 'Girl Power' tattoo I instantly felt like I had to defend it. I even started feeling self-conscious about it.

What I realized over years was that people think that just because women come up with fun ways to fight for their rights, they're not taken seriously. Just because we're cute doesn't mean that what we've got to say is cute only. To anyone out there who thinks that my 'Girl Power' tattoo is silly, here are the 5 reasons why I am absolutely and undeniably proud of it:

1. We need more 'Girl Power' in this world

We women are fierce. Yeah, men are strong and don't get emotional, blah blah blah. Meanwhile, we do get emotional. We are passionate and caring. We cry and we scream. Do you have a problem with that? I don't think so. It's healthy to be emotional. It causes a huge stress relief and lets us move on to better things. Being passionate is what makes a change. Don't tell me that any revolution was achieved by calculated actions. If 'Girl Power' is being emotional or crazy, maybe we're doing something right? Maybe we're the ones who can make a change.

2. Empowered women empower women

Recently someone reached out to me on Instagram with an ambassador proposition. Usually, I'd ignore that DM (I'm not an influencer whatsoever) but I looked into their profile instead and instantly I loved it. I didn't care about discounts, more followers or anything like that. I just wanted a t-shirt that spread that amazing message. I want to wear it around my town and let everyone know that I do not judge other women for their looks, or what they eat or how they act. I'm always there to support them, whoever they are. There are already so many forces working against women, let's not add ourselves into that equation.

3. Being women pays off

However you want to call it, we women have absolutely outstanding marketing skills. We turned something as obvious as our gender into world wide business. We have t-shirts, cups, tumblers, we built businesses and nonprofit organizations based on the gender inequity issue that the world threw at us. For hundreds or thousands of years we were told we're not worthy of this world the way men are and somehow these days that world is revolving around us. We built this global empire that includes every single female who's willing to be included. We built unions and support systems, we built magazines and leadership programs. We have thousands or even millions of people ready to hear us out when we feel mistreated. Maybe we don't have a system or government on our side but we most certainly have the most beautiful community of all.

4. It could be worse

Not the best reason but still valid. Out of all the designs in the world I chose the one that's simple, fun and empowering at the same time. It's not misspelled or most possibly won't offend anyone unless you're a douche like my friend's boyfriend. Counting in the fact I was drunk on Hollywood Blvd. that night, I am so glad that I ended up with a 'Girl Power' tattoo!

5. I made it into something more

We can all laugh that it could be worse or say honestly that 'Girl Power' should be a seriously considered movement but to me it's also very personal. Shortly after getting that tattoo I was offered an entry to a New York City Marathon. I started getting ready, trained hard and even got myself an injury that stopped me from running for over 3 weeks. Still, on November 4, 2018 I ran 26.2 miles being cheered by thousands of people, high-fiving everyone and dying a little in the end. That event inspired me to update my 'silly' tattoo. At that time I loved it already but once the tattooist added a running girl right next to it I knew that it turned into something way more. It turned into a proof that even as a girl, even as a person who is a super slow runner and used to struggle with running a mile... I could do anything as long as I put my mind into it.

It's been a long time since I updated my tattoo but these days every time I look at my Running Girl right next to the words 'Girl Power' I smile and think of all the amazing things I'm capable of. For a while I stopped running but I'm trying to get back to it. Again, this tattoo is a great reminder that I can achieve my goal. At this moment it's a half marathon in Myrtle Beach on May, 1.When they asked me to customize my bib I typed in "I run like a girl!".