Cindy

Connect What inspired your most recent tattoo?

My first tattoo was my son’s name, Dylan, inked close to my heart as a symbol of unconditional love and the reason I kept going. My most recent piece is a shaded butterfly that transforms into a skull across my back—it’s raw, dark, and beautiful, just like the era it represents. I got it during a painful divorce while escaping an abusive relationship. I didn’t see my son for months, and it marked my rebirth—not just as a single mom, but as a woman finding her power

If your ink could speak, what would it say?

Today, I’m a nurse and a grad student. I mix bold color with soft shading in my tattoos the same way I blend compassion and grit in the medical field. If my tattoos could speak, they’d say: ‘She didn’t just survive—she turned her scars into art.’”