Maya Robbio

Connect What inspired your most recent tattoo?

My butterfly tattoo is for the loved ones I’ve lost. Whenever someone passes, a butterfly appears—like a little sign from them. At first I thought it was coincidence, but it kept happening exactly when I needed it most. Butterflies are fragile yet resilient, just like grief. They remind me that even in loss, there’s still beauty. This tattoo is my way of keeping that magic close.

If your ink could speak, what would it say?

They’d tell you I used to be afraid of standing out. Now my skin doesn’t apologize. These marks map the losses, people, parts of myself, but also the stubbornness to keep going. Together, they'd tell you I'm softer than I look. That I carry the dead without apology, love with both hands, and take up space unafraid. They'd say I believe in signs but still make my own magic.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would finally be able to give myself a jump start on my life. I graduated during COVID in 2020, and I feel like it has set my life back since. I want to continue my career with hairstyling and becoming an independent stylist. I have the talent, but I haven’t had the funds to begin. I want to live the ‘normal’ adult life that I have missed out on because I have had to create this life by myself.