The tattoo inscribed on the inside of her left wrist reminds Tori White of one of her favorite sayings:

‘Stronger than what I’m going through.’

The tattoo faces White, a junior English and textual studies major. When she looks at her wrist, she’s constantly reminded of the words penned on it. The words face her because the tattoo and its message are for her, not anyone else, White said.

At the end of winter break, in January 2012, White got her first tattoo inked.

‘My mom and I always told each other we’d get out first tattoo together,’ White said. ‘She and I made a pact that we wouldn’t get one unless we did it together.’

White’s father did not approve of the two of them getting inked, but that did not stop them. White and her mother made a simple deal: White would pick her mother’s tattoo and her mother would pick White’s.

At House of Colour in Bay Shore, Long Island, the two of them ended up designing the same tattoo.

A song they heard during a car ride together inspired the design.

‘She always wanted something that conveyed how strong I was,’ White said.

The reason White’s mother picked the phrase she did is that she wanted something that would portray their relationship well. White said the two are inseparable and are best friends.

‘Strength is what we give each other,’ White said. ‘The biggest thing she’s taught me is to be strong, and I think I help keep her strong.’

White wants to add another tattoo over the summer. She wants the second one to be about her mother as well. She envisions an anchor at the bottom of her foot, just below the ankle. The anchor would have a lily of the valley, which is her mother’s favorite flower, White said.

Said White about the tattoo: ‘She keeps my feet on the ground.’ 

– Compiled by Soriana Stern, staff writer, sostern@syr.edu

Published on April 30, 2012 at 12:00 pm