The number one question I get is, “Is that a real tattoo?” The answer is yes, which may be surprising considering I had just turned 16 when I got it. The second most commonly asked question I get is, “How did you convince your parents to let you get a tattoo?” Well, for one thing, my parents knew I would get this tattoo eventually, so why make me wait another two years? The other thing is, my tattoo is a floral version of the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) symbol, along with the date that my recovery started- 4.18. I purposefully didn’t put a year to signify that my eating disorder, and subsequently my recovery, is something that’ll stick with me my entire life. The other reason I got the NEDA symbol is to hold myself accountable. I have had many, many relapses. But the thing is, in my mind I would look a bit silly if I had a NEDA tattoo, with my recovery date, and still relapsed. My take on things is, if I’m going to have to deal with recovery, why not get a sick tattoo to memorialize the hardship that led to my beautiful current day life?
