“This phrase is my reminder of what it is so very hard to do: feel, something so simple, yet so difficult. I had been numb for years, pushed my emotions far down, hoping they wouldn’t surface. Fear, sadness, anger, even joy, I didn’t want to feel any of them. About a year ago I woke up with a knot in my stomach and an overwhelming urge to run hard and fast. So I ran for miles on end, trying to make this horrible feeling go away, but I couldn’t run it out of me. I decided that all those feelings that I had pushed into hiding were rising up, fighting to get out and be expressed. And I felt…
The placement of my tattoo was an easy decision. I wanted it to be where I could see it, as could others. My hope was for people to read it, ask about it, and then dive in and see what they are feeling. I will never get tired of looking down and seeing the stars; they make me smile every time.
The Boulder Tattoo Project has been such an amazing experience for me. I love being out and having someone come up to me to show me their tattoo with a big smile on their face. There is an instant connection, a story to be told, a friendship to be made. It is like having a family that you didn’t know you had and meeting new members of this unusual family one at a time.”
Josie Engelbreth’s “and you feel”
The Boulder Tattoo Project 