Firen Towanda

Connect What inspired your most recent tattoo?

During acupuncture for chronic pain, my practitioner linked my issues to water in Chinese medicine—grief and the mother wound. I lost my mom young and survived abuse from a stepmother. That moment cracked me open. I envisioned a tattoo honoring my womb and healing stored trauma from body dysmorphia and low self-worth. It’s my symbol of feminine strength, self-love, and transformation.

If your ink could speak, what would it say?

I am a map of becoming. I carry the sacredness of death, the wisdom of the womb, the bonds of sisterhood, and the wonder of the world. Every line is a memory, a lesson, a vow to never forget who I was—and who I am becoming.

What would you do with the $25,000?

As a nurse beginning grad school to become a Psych NP specializing in end-of-life therapy, I’d use the $25,000 to support my education and take my mother-in-law—who has early dementia—back to her birthplace in Hawaii one last time, while she can still enjoy and remember it. It would be a gift of presence, healing, and legacy.