Christopher Ottomanelli

Connect What inspired your most recent tattoo?

I had planned to get a new tattoo for my 20th birthday in September 2023 but instead, I ended up celebrating it in a hospital bed on life support. After spending 3 months in the hospital fighting a rare neurological condition, I started a new, unfamiliar life of sobriety. With my 21st birthday approaching, I chose to celebrate not with alcohol, but with a long-awaited and well-deserved tattoo, a DNA strand and an atom, symbolizing the gift of life that is too often taken for granted.

If your ink could speak, what would it say?

If my ink could speak, it would say “From the vast solar system that surrounds us to the microscopic DNA that defines us, and the atoms that stitch it all together, life is a work of art that demonstrates beauty on every scale of existence.”

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would put the $25,000 toward my college education to fund my passion of becoming a teacher. I have worked with children since 2019 and have just recently decided to follow my dream of teaching elementary school. I have maintained straight A’s while attending community college for the past 3 semesters and will soon be transferring to a University to pursue my degree in childhood education. The $25,000 would be an investment into my future, a future that almost wasn’t so certain.