Wow. This post was a roller coaster of highs and lows. Congrats on hitting your number!
I was sad reading about some of the tough things you went through, the fights, bullying, your mom, and everything else. I know, as you said, those experiences helped shape the person you are today, but they still sound incredibly hard to have lived through.
Also, people are actually touching other people’s tattoos? How crazy.
I was excited to see the Crash tattoo. I was a huge fan of the series. If I had to pick a gaming one to get from back then, I’d probably go Earthworm Jim. He was my guy.
It definitely wasn't easy and I won't say that I handled it like a champ, I became an alcoholic when I was 12. Had times where I'd quit for a few months, but it wasn't long until I was back at it again. Broke the habit for 7 years now. I do drink on very special occasions, but it's been 3 years since and that was a wedding. Cool part is channeling the crappy parts into something positive. :)
And yes!! People touch my tattoos all the time, Kentuckians are sometimes a bit overfriendly. No boundaries lol. Usually, it's just older harmless people, and of course, the occasional creep. 🤣 I love Earthworm Jim!! We play it on the Nintendo Switch sometimes. Mostly Donkey Kong or Dr. Mario though.
Thank you for reading, Ricky! I appreciate you for going on this wacky rollercoaster ride (exactly how I describe my memoir btw). :)
So, we both have wack as fuck mothers and an Uncle Tim. Most of my scars are emotional, fortunately? Glad those psycho bitches didn't kill you. Wild.
But also, while i played crash bandicoot and a little spyro, Smite was the game that saved my life. I met people all over the world using curseclient and the nice thing about online gaming, is you can mute your mic when the screaming starts. Soooo much better than traumatizing kids from school after inviting them over to experience my brother and mom attacking each other.
Oh, I slept with a knife and or hammer under my pillow? I was more afraid of what was inside of my home then outside of it.
You also have an Uncle Tim?! That's crazy! I have an uncle named Jeff too, but he was the creepy, smelly black sheep of the family lol. It was a wild time, I'm lucky it wasn't worse to be honest. They truly were psycho, there are many girls like that in my hometown. I could tell stories for days about crazy redneck bitches, ones crazier than me. 🤣
I've not heard of Smite, I looked it up and it reminds me a little of Runescape, just cooler and better graphics. I'm glad you had a way to escape the shit surrounding you and survive it. 💜 The fighting and yelling causes so much anxiety. When I got internet, one of my ways of making friends was through avatar sites like GaiaOnline. It was so much fun too. That's another one of my happy memories and life lines.
You had every right to, I'm glad you recognized the need to protect yourself. With an alcoholic, mentally unhealthy mother, anything is possible. I hope you never had to use anything though, and I'm glad you're not in that space anymore. I'm curious, we may have talked about it but I'm not sure, have you cut your family off? I'm in the process of cutting my mother out of my life, it's been an emotional struggle.
Thank you so much! 💜 This is such a sweet, thoughtful comment and I appreciate it more than words can say. :) Thank you, especially, for making me feel heard.
I will be on the lookout for your post! Can't wait to learn more about you and your history. And I'm so happy you decided to write. 💜
That was a cool story. I like your Spyro! I cannot put photos on this comment for some reason, however, some of my scars and tattoos are: scary under kneecap from bmx stack playing around with friends, and one on my eyebrows from falling backwards sitting on a metal rail and swinging back like a pendulum into the post of it.. and I have an Oscar the grouch from me youthful bong smoking shenanigans days, and a bunch of other scars and tattoos but I won't get into it right now. :) thanks for the article you really have a cool story so far!
Thank you so much! I have definitely lived life in a hardcore way haha. And it sounds like you have too! The kneecap one sounds especially painful. 🥴 But so does the eyebrow. Reminds me of the time I fell out the porch backwards as a kid, and my back landed flat on a bucket turned upside down. Oscar the grouch sounds so fun (ironic given his name but still true)!! If you decide to share in a note, tag me please! :)
They actually did not hurt for me, sometimes the ones that are the most brutal do not hurt... Ohhhh (in hindsight: hahaha) the bucket is a funny thing to imagine knowing that you are ok now. Kids being kids!
Once at rugby training (I only played for fun for 2 years) one of our forwards jumped up over the surrounding steel rail and caught his footy-boots on top of it, slipped across it like a grind, and landed on it before hitting the ground on his side. It produced hysterical laughter from basically the whole team.
Another one was when I had attempted to skateboard down a very steep hill for the second time and got absolutely effing 'fed'. My tumbling stopped about 20 or 30 meters from where I fell off; I had missing hair, my pants backside were burned through, and I layed there for a moment, when my friends asked if I wanted to go to the hospital, I said "nah f**k that, let's get (drunk) fu**ed up!" Hahaha
Hi Kayla, congrats on 169 subscribers! Thank you for sharing your stories about your tattoos. They’re all nice. I love that you were able to use your dragon tattoo to distract kids during blood draws. Your stories about your scars are very exciting. I never got in fights. You must be very brave 🌸💛
Thank you, my sweet friend, I appreciate you so much. :) I'm super glad my tattoo was on my left arm for that purpose, since I'm right-handed. And maybe a bit of bravery, but mostly foolishness haha. I've calmed down for the most part now that I have my own kids and the only thing that could rile me up like that is a threat to their safety. I'll always fight for them, if needed. 💜
These are so cool! I would not have expected the video game characters, haha. It's a shame the Crash Bandicoot didn't come out how you wanted, because your description of what you wanted sounded waaay cooler.
It's hard to know what to expect when it comes to me sometimes. 😂 I have more tattoos I want to get, but because of my bad luck, I'm a little apprehensive as it's very a specific, unique concept. And yeah, I was disappointed when he showed me the stencil and when I voiced my opinion, he said he'd have to reschedule me to redraw it. 🙄 So I just went with it. I'm good about shrugging things off lol.
I've been in several fights during my youth and early adulthood. 😂 That one was the worst for me, but there was once an incident with a large hard-shelled Aquafina water bottle. I have no regrets though lol. That girl had it coming so bad.
Once upon a time, I wanted to get the world tree from Norse mythos on my back, but fell away from that idea. And I think I’m glad once I read your description of feeling the vibrations on your spine. 😱
And damn, better not mess with Kayla, or you’ll get a water bottle to the face. 😂😂
Oooh that would be so badass. But yeah, I have a fairly high pain tolerance and that felt crippling, worse than the 5 times the anesthesiologist missed trying to put in my spinal block for C-section. 🥴 I’m not sure how others get full pieces on their back lol.
These days I result to more calmer methods, like…deez bows (one of my word creations). 🤣 An elbow drop is… very effective.
Funny coincidence... I paid for my ex-wife's first tattoo and first piercing. I still remember the screech she let out during the piercing. I won't say where below the waist! Some memories refuse to fade. 😂
Omg, hahaha, yeah I can see why. That's one heck of a memory. 🤣 She had more um… for a lack of a better term, lady balls than I will ever have! I got my nose pierced once and that was more than enough for me. 😂
I love every single part of this!! You’re a badass, 'don't mess with me', ridiculous weirdo! 😂 The tattoos are awesome and the scars are scary, exactly as I expected. Spyro is the best out of those three for me 😆 The only bad thing is that it's over, I want more! And yeah, life hasn't been easy on you, which makes your positivity and humor even stronger, and it’s a sign that you are an incredibly strong person!
Hahaha, what can I say? Kindness has always been a choice and it can quickly be abandoned for more favorable forms of expression. 🤣 Wait until you hear my story about how I put an end to people bullying me, I call it: The Day I Snapped. 😂
I was hoping you'd like the video game characters! Spyro is also my favorite, and I still play those games from time to time. I want to add a dragon egg and some gems around my arm one day too.
Life has dealt me some crappy cards, but as I always say, it could have been a lot worse. :) Learning how to overcome the crap builds character. Thank you so much for all your kindness! 💜 I'm not sure why, but I felt kind of anxious about sharing this after typing it up and it took me a couple extra days to press the publish button. 😅
Judging by the title, 'The Day I Snapped' sounds like all boundaries have been crossed 😂 And speaking of life dealing crappy cards, you know that saying - when life gives you shit, make lemonade. 😆
I had definitely had enough and I did cross some boundaries in retaliation. 😂 Ya know, I've never quite heard it put like that before, but it works way better than the original version. Knowing my luck I would accidentally make shitade. 🤣
I love tattoos and the stories behind them. I've got a full sleeve/chest piece made up of a snake (in honor of my wildlife-loving dad), vines (for my gardener mom), and two Celtic-style dogs.
I remember seeing one of your tattoos in the note you shared while you were at the beach! If I'm not mistaken, I think it was vines. I just remember it was a killer piece of art, and love the meaning behind both of them. :) Celtic-style dogs are super cool too, I'm a sucker for anything historic or connected to mythology.
Wow. This post was a roller coaster of highs and lows. Congrats on hitting your number!
I was sad reading about some of the tough things you went through, the fights, bullying, your mom, and everything else. I know, as you said, those experiences helped shape the person you are today, but they still sound incredibly hard to have lived through.
Also, people are actually touching other people’s tattoos? How crazy.
I was excited to see the Crash tattoo. I was a huge fan of the series. If I had to pick a gaming one to get from back then, I’d probably go Earthworm Jim. He was my guy.
Anyway, great post. Congrats again.
It definitely wasn't easy and I won't say that I handled it like a champ, I became an alcoholic when I was 12. Had times where I'd quit for a few months, but it wasn't long until I was back at it again. Broke the habit for 7 years now. I do drink on very special occasions, but it's been 3 years since and that was a wedding. Cool part is channeling the crappy parts into something positive. :)
And yes!! People touch my tattoos all the time, Kentuckians are sometimes a bit overfriendly. No boundaries lol. Usually, it's just older harmless people, and of course, the occasional creep. 🤣 I love Earthworm Jim!! We play it on the Nintendo Switch sometimes. Mostly Donkey Kong or Dr. Mario though.
Thank you for reading, Ricky! I appreciate you for going on this wacky rollercoaster ride (exactly how I describe my memoir btw). :)
Came for Spyro, stayed for the ride.
It was a bumpy one, I'm glad you held on for it. :) thank you!
So, we both have wack as fuck mothers and an Uncle Tim. Most of my scars are emotional, fortunately? Glad those psycho bitches didn't kill you. Wild.
But also, while i played crash bandicoot and a little spyro, Smite was the game that saved my life. I met people all over the world using curseclient and the nice thing about online gaming, is you can mute your mic when the screaming starts. Soooo much better than traumatizing kids from school after inviting them over to experience my brother and mom attacking each other.
Oh, I slept with a knife and or hammer under my pillow? I was more afraid of what was inside of my home then outside of it.
You also have an Uncle Tim?! That's crazy! I have an uncle named Jeff too, but he was the creepy, smelly black sheep of the family lol. It was a wild time, I'm lucky it wasn't worse to be honest. They truly were psycho, there are many girls like that in my hometown. I could tell stories for days about crazy redneck bitches, ones crazier than me. 🤣
I've not heard of Smite, I looked it up and it reminds me a little of Runescape, just cooler and better graphics. I'm glad you had a way to escape the shit surrounding you and survive it. 💜 The fighting and yelling causes so much anxiety. When I got internet, one of my ways of making friends was through avatar sites like GaiaOnline. It was so much fun too. That's another one of my happy memories and life lines.
You had every right to, I'm glad you recognized the need to protect yourself. With an alcoholic, mentally unhealthy mother, anything is possible. I hope you never had to use anything though, and I'm glad you're not in that space anymore. I'm curious, we may have talked about it but I'm not sure, have you cut your family off? I'm in the process of cutting my mother out of my life, it's been an emotional struggle.
"I'm often unheard by people, not sure why…I’m very loud."
*I heard this part the loudest* 🥹🤗
I'm glad you published this post after your initial hesitation! - it was so completely engaging to read, from start to finish!!
& I have many tattoos, and you have inspired me to write about them too!! 💕✨
Thank you so much! 💜 This is such a sweet, thoughtful comment and I appreciate it more than words can say. :) Thank you, especially, for making me feel heard.
I will be on the lookout for your post! Can't wait to learn more about you and your history. And I'm so happy you decided to write. 💜
That was a cool story. I like your Spyro! I cannot put photos on this comment for some reason, however, some of my scars and tattoos are: scary under kneecap from bmx stack playing around with friends, and one on my eyebrows from falling backwards sitting on a metal rail and swinging back like a pendulum into the post of it.. and I have an Oscar the grouch from me youthful bong smoking shenanigans days, and a bunch of other scars and tattoos but I won't get into it right now. :) thanks for the article you really have a cool story so far!
Thank you so much! I have definitely lived life in a hardcore way haha. And it sounds like you have too! The kneecap one sounds especially painful. 🥴 But so does the eyebrow. Reminds me of the time I fell out the porch backwards as a kid, and my back landed flat on a bucket turned upside down. Oscar the grouch sounds so fun (ironic given his name but still true)!! If you decide to share in a note, tag me please! :)
They actually did not hurt for me, sometimes the ones that are the most brutal do not hurt... Ohhhh (in hindsight: hahaha) the bucket is a funny thing to imagine knowing that you are ok now. Kids being kids!
Once at rugby training (I only played for fun for 2 years) one of our forwards jumped up over the surrounding steel rail and caught his footy-boots on top of it, slipped across it like a grind, and landed on it before hitting the ground on his side. It produced hysterical laughter from basically the whole team.
Another one was when I had attempted to skateboard down a very steep hill for the second time and got absolutely effing 'fed'. My tumbling stopped about 20 or 30 meters from where I fell off; I had missing hair, my pants backside were burned through, and I layed there for a moment, when my friends asked if I wanted to go to the hospital, I said "nah f**k that, let's get (drunk) fu**ed up!" Hahaha
**When I wrote (in hindsight) I meant not to ridicule your misfortunate fall onto a bucket
🤩🩷🫂
Hi Kayla, congrats on 169 subscribers! Thank you for sharing your stories about your tattoos. They’re all nice. I love that you were able to use your dragon tattoo to distract kids during blood draws. Your stories about your scars are very exciting. I never got in fights. You must be very brave 🌸💛
Thank you, my sweet friend, I appreciate you so much. :) I'm super glad my tattoo was on my left arm for that purpose, since I'm right-handed. And maybe a bit of bravery, but mostly foolishness haha. I've calmed down for the most part now that I have my own kids and the only thing that could rile me up like that is a threat to their safety. I'll always fight for them, if needed. 💜
🌸💛 You must be a great mom
I do my best and always try to do better each day. :) Thank you!! 💜💜
These are so cool! I would not have expected the video game characters, haha. It's a shame the Crash Bandicoot didn't come out how you wanted, because your description of what you wanted sounded waaay cooler.
Also, Kayla the Krab confirmed Kage fighter. 😂
It's hard to know what to expect when it comes to me sometimes. 😂 I have more tattoos I want to get, but because of my bad luck, I'm a little apprehensive as it's very a specific, unique concept. And yeah, I was disappointed when he showed me the stencil and when I voiced my opinion, he said he'd have to reschedule me to redraw it. 🙄 So I just went with it. I'm good about shrugging things off lol.
I've been in several fights during my youth and early adulthood. 😂 That one was the worst for me, but there was once an incident with a large hard-shelled Aquafina water bottle. I have no regrets though lol. That girl had it coming so bad.
Once upon a time, I wanted to get the world tree from Norse mythos on my back, but fell away from that idea. And I think I’m glad once I read your description of feeling the vibrations on your spine. 😱
And damn, better not mess with Kayla, or you’ll get a water bottle to the face. 😂😂
Oooh that would be so badass. But yeah, I have a fairly high pain tolerance and that felt crippling, worse than the 5 times the anesthesiologist missed trying to put in my spinal block for C-section. 🥴 I’m not sure how others get full pieces on their back lol.
These days I result to more calmer methods, like…deez bows (one of my word creations). 🤣 An elbow drop is… very effective.
Funny coincidence... I paid for my ex-wife's first tattoo and first piercing. I still remember the screech she let out during the piercing. I won't say where below the waist! Some memories refuse to fade. 😂
Omg, hahaha, yeah I can see why. That's one heck of a memory. 🤣 She had more um… for a lack of a better term, lady balls than I will ever have! I got my nose pierced once and that was more than enough for me. 😂
I love every single part of this!! You’re a badass, 'don't mess with me', ridiculous weirdo! 😂 The tattoos are awesome and the scars are scary, exactly as I expected. Spyro is the best out of those three for me 😆 The only bad thing is that it's over, I want more! And yeah, life hasn't been easy on you, which makes your positivity and humor even stronger, and it’s a sign that you are an incredibly strong person!
Hahaha, what can I say? Kindness has always been a choice and it can quickly be abandoned for more favorable forms of expression. 🤣 Wait until you hear my story about how I put an end to people bullying me, I call it: The Day I Snapped. 😂
I was hoping you'd like the video game characters! Spyro is also my favorite, and I still play those games from time to time. I want to add a dragon egg and some gems around my arm one day too.
Life has dealt me some crappy cards, but as I always say, it could have been a lot worse. :) Learning how to overcome the crap builds character. Thank you so much for all your kindness! 💜 I'm not sure why, but I felt kind of anxious about sharing this after typing it up and it took me a couple extra days to press the publish button. 😅
Judging by the title, 'The Day I Snapped' sounds like all boundaries have been crossed 😂 And speaking of life dealing crappy cards, you know that saying - when life gives you shit, make lemonade. 😆
I had definitely had enough and I did cross some boundaries in retaliation. 😂 Ya know, I've never quite heard it put like that before, but it works way better than the original version. Knowing my luck I would accidentally make shitade. 🤣
Oh yeah, lemons and lemonade are the softer, more positive version. 😂
I love tattoos and the stories behind them. I've got a full sleeve/chest piece made up of a snake (in honor of my wildlife-loving dad), vines (for my gardener mom), and two Celtic-style dogs.
Thanks for sharing yours!
I remember seeing one of your tattoos in the note you shared while you were at the beach! If I'm not mistaken, I think it was vines. I just remember it was a killer piece of art, and love the meaning behind both of them. :) Celtic-style dogs are super cool too, I'm a sucker for anything historic or connected to mythology.