Melissa Calahan

Connect What inspired your most recent tattoo?

My daughter saved my life—at 5, she gave me a “porpoise” (her way of saying purpose), and that became the inspiration for one of my tattoos. She’s my strength and my reason for everything. I’m so proud to be her mom. My other tattoo is a cat in space—because that’s where my head is half the time. It reminds me to stay curious, dream big, and embrace the weird parts of me that make life fun.

If your ink could speak, what would it say?

If this art could talk, it would say: I’m strength and survival, wild like a tiger and beating like a real heart. I carry love in a name—your daughter, your purpose. I hold magic in dust from Ghibli dreams, and curiosity in a space-traveling cat. I’m your story in color and ink—bold, soft, fierce, and free. I’m you.

What would you do with the $25,000?

With the $25,000, I’d honor my cats who’ve been by my side through the darkest times, quietly walking me through the pain. I’d also use it to continue making my body—one I finally feel confident in—truly mine, shaped by my own choices, passions, and what I love.