Our Stories
So, my dad is from Ireland and my mom's parents are from Ireland, so most of my extended family, close family, is still back in Ireland, I actually got that flag when I was in Ireland myself, it just reminds me of my family, and I am very close with my family.
So, tell me about your family, who's in your family?
I have one younger brother his name is Patrick; I also have a younger sister named Orla and an older sister named Emma. We all have Irish names in the sense besides my older sister Emma, Emma is not really an Irish name, I think its German if I am correct. But my older sister is named, my mom used to go to Ireland almost every summer, and my older sister was named after one of my mom's childhood friends who was in Ireland, they were very close but unfortunately my mom's friend Emma passed away from childhood cancer, so my mom wanted to name my older sister after her to honor her.
I know you have more than one tattoo, tell me about them!
So, my first one I ever got was actually for my grandfather, I didn't think I would ever get a tattoo, but it just so happened that was the first one which it's his birthday and I got it on his birthday about 10 years after he passed. His birthday, which I find interesting is 12/34/1934 and that always seemed very cool to me. But the reason I got it was because my grandfather and I were very close, he was and still is one of my biggest role models growing up, it's kinda just the little things that he would do that always stuck with me. I always think about it from time to time. This one time I fell asleep in the living room of his house, and I could hear him coming down the hall and I thought he heard me being up late at night and I thought he would get mad or something, so I just pretended to be asleep. And he came over with a blanket and he tucked me in because he saw me without a blanket and it was just those acts of caring, compassion they just always stuck with me, you know. He always took such great care of me that I kinda wanna do the same for him, when I'm back home, not at school, I try to go take care of him at his grave. It's on my left arm, which when I put my arms down its first thing touching where my heart is, so he is always with my heart in that sense.
So, tell me about some of the others, do they also relate to your family?
Ya so I have coordinates that go back to Ireland, to a family home in Ireland, actually where my grandfather was born. One of the relatively new one is a pocket watch. The reason why I got a pocket watch was originally for my father, when my dad grew up it was a thing down the family line of them passing down a pocket watch from son to son. When my grandfather passed away and my dad went to Ireland, he could never find the pocket watch. So, for Christmas 2 years ago we actually got him one. Seeing my father tear up, from this pocket watch, I saw how much it meant to him so that’s where I got the idea, and I was like okay that’s what I'm going to get him. So, when I went to go get it, I had the opportunity to set the time, I wanted something directly for my mom as well, so I set the time on the clock for the time my mom was born. It was also around the time I finished my associate degree, so it had a symbol of new time, new beginnings, new chapters.
The reason I got the map wasn’t for a family member, it was really for myself because I always had a love for maps and globes, it felt like the right fit for me. I always had a globe when I was growing up and I loved looking at it I eventually lost it at some point or it broke and now I actually have my grandfather's one because my mom was going through his stuff and she found it and gave it to me which was very nice and I try to take care of it now.
I also have another one that I recently got, it’s a molecule for insulin, because my little brother has type 1 diabetes. That was very difficult for him because he was 16 at the time and that just changes your whole life. I wanted him to know even though I don't have it, we are in it together, I will always be here for you, if you ever need help with it or need a ride to the doctors I'm here for you, he had so many needles poked at him I figured I could get a few myself. So that is why I got the molecule because that is the molecule that keeps him healthy.