27 Powerful tattoos with meanings that are more than skin deep

these might get you in the feels

By Nathan Johnson

Published 7 years ago in Feels

these might get you in the feels

1
“Got My Dads Last Handprint Tattooed On My Back. My Dad Passed Away Last November And I Had The Funeral Home Take His Handprint For Me And I Got It Tattooed On My Back.”

3
“I Got This 3 Days After My 18th Birthday, It’s My Grandfather Who Died When I Was 7 Holding Up The World In His WWII Uniform.”
4
“About A Month Ago, I Lost A Friend In A Climbing Accident. I Watched Him Fall 50 Meters To His Death. This Is My Reminder Of Him As Well As A Reminder To Myself To Climb Safe.”

5
“This is a dedication to my sister who lost a battle with cancer. My sister was special needs and couldn’t write many things but she did always sign her own cards. This tattoo is a scan from the last card she signed for me. I couldn’t think of a better way to ink her name than in her own handwriting.”
6
“Recently, Got These Done In Memory Of The Loss Of My Other Half.”
7
“My father passed on Valentines day 2 days before I turned 18, I thought this quote from a prayer said during his funeral was perfect. He had written a birthday card about 30 minutes before his heart attack and it was signed “love ya, dad” so I had his handwriting put below the quote.”

8
“My Brother Was Murdered On February 6th, 2015. He Had “Honor Your Truth” Tattooed Across His Chest. We Cremated Him And We Are Putting His Ashes In A Bio Urn, So He Will Grow Into A Strong, Beautiful Oak Tree. This Is My Memorial Tattoo For Him.”
9
“Always Wanted A Tattoo Of A Dragon, And Skyrim Got Me Through Quitting Heroin In 2011 And Helped Me Stay Clean. I’m Super Happy I Finally Did It.”
10
“Today was one of those moments I will never forget. A new father came barreling into the shop, a huge ball of energy, basically shouting from excitement “I JUST HAD A BABY GIRL AND I NEED HER NAME TATTOOED ON MY WRIST!!!!” With me hearing this I said congratulations and asked when he had her and he sai “3:30am this morning!!!” He was exhausted yet full of energy. So I set up, and we small talked about all of his kids. He has 5 now. 4 daughters and one son, who accompanied him. We were talking about the baby and he said “she is very important to me” and I said yeah I’m sure she is and he came back with “I have lung cancer, it spread everywhere and there’s not much else they can do. I stopped chemo a month ago and I have 4 months to live. Rainy will carry on my life.” I got sort of choked up. The fact that I was tattooing someone who’s clock was literally ticking faster than anyone’s was just such a hard concept to wrap my head around. He was so positive and explained to me how he was living his life the best that he could. Every single day. He didn’t look sick. He had such an energetic smile and such a vibe like he had the world in his hands. Today was already humbling because I added onto a sleeve that is on my late best friend’s father. But this… this was the icing on the cake. A moment I truly will never forget. When he was leaving he gave me a really tight hug and genuinely thanked me, shook my hand, winked and said “see you soon”. Thank you rainy and your amazing father for reminding me to live everyday as if it was your last.”

11
“Best Friend Committed Suicide Last Year. Got Her Last Note As My First Tattoo. She Was Only 15-Years-Old, And I Was 17 When She Died. Tomorrow Is My 19th Birthday And I Miss Her More Than Any Words Could Express.”
12
“My Mother Passed Away Unexpectedly Two Nights Ago. She Told Me Once That If Were Ever To Get Another Tattoo It Would Have Been A Fairy. I Also Found A Document While Going Through Some Stuff Where She Wrote, “I Love You Very Much. -Mom.” I Miss Her And I Know She Would Have Loved It.”
13
“Got My First Tattoo Today. The Big Brick Is To Represent My Big Brother Who Died One Day Shy Of His 40th Birthday This Year, In His Favorite Color, And The Little One (Hugging The Larger One) Represents Me, In My Favorite Color. We Always Built Lego Together.”

14
“Something Silly For The “Extra Life” Heart Surgery Gave Me.”
15
“My Dad Died On December 15, 2016. Today, I Got A Tattoo.”
16
“My Mom And Dad Had Cancer At The Same Time In The Same Hospital. He Wrote Her This Note When They Were Too Sick To Visit Each Other. This Is My First Ever Tattoo, In His Memory!”

17
“My Second Tattoo Nearly Two Weeks After My First. A Semicolon For Suicide Awareness. It May Be Small, But It Has A Powerful Meaning.”
18
“Shot Heroin For 12 Years. Today Is 4 Years Clean. I Get A Tally Every 23rd Of July.”
19
“Just Got A New Tattoo! It’s A Poem My Dad Wrote To Me The Day I Was Born, He Died This Summer.”

20
“Tattoo Of The Book My Dad Was Reading When He Passed Away.”
21
“Simple Chart My Grandpa Drew For Me To Show Where My Home Is On The Surface Of The Earth With Longitude And Latitude.”
22
“Dad Passed Away In 2009, Got A Note He Wrote In My 2nd Grade Yearbook As A Reminder.”

23
“His Son Died Of Sids Last Year, And Got A Waveform Tattoo Of His Sons Laugh.”
24
“My Mum Passed Away A Few Months Ago, Yesterday I Got My First Tattoo. She Used To Leave Us Little Post It Notes, I Got It Copied Out.”
25
“Dad Tattoos His Son’s Cancer Scar On His Own Head To Boost Son’s Self-Confidence.”