Psychexero

The next tattoo in my set didn't come until just after my 22nd birthday.  To make this all make more sense, I'll explain a little backstory:

When I went to college, I'd had a full ride to UNM with the intent of studying medicine and become an MD.  Then I met a boy.  I dropped out of college and followed him to California where I thought I was following the love of my life, but in truth, I just ended up imprisoned for the next 3 years.  We lived with his mom and sister, and his mom wasn't exactly financially responsible.. I ended up supporting the household on my call center income.  The boy would get jobs here and there, but they never lasted long, and the money was usually spent on "toys" for him.  I attended my cousin's college graduation in the Spring of 2002, and my uncle pulled me aside and told me that "he didn't know the circumstances of my life at present, but that it couldn't be good, because I looked miserable."  During that trip, my uncle, cousin, and I spoke about me moving to Lubbock, TX, and in with my cousin, so I could sort out my life. 
That following September, my mom came out to California and rescued me, helped me move to Lubbock and get set up.  My birthday came and went, and sometime in November, I mentioned wanting to get a tattoo to my cousin, so we went and colored on ourselves together.

I got the Kanji symbol for love.  Somewhere between being at college and leaving California, I forgot how to love myself.  I forgot that I was important.  And while that might sound self-centered, it's really not.  I can admit that I'm a giving, loving person, and I will literally give someone the shirt off my back.  But you can't continue doing it unless you have someone giving it back to you, keeping your pitcher full, so to speak.  If I'd thought about it, I could have given it back to myself, but the thought never crossed my mind.  So I got this tattoo to remind me to love: not only others, but myself as well.  I posititioned it right about my symbol for fire for a reason.  It's like my personal to-do list: Keep your temper in check, and remember to love.