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| Just kidding! It actually means "I love beer." -M |
Last night, I put on a shirt I haven't worn since I got the tattoo. The collar of the shirt framed the ink really well, and for the first time in a couple of months, I found that the scales tipped in favor of feeling uber proud as opposed to uber surprised/overwhelmed that I tattooed the shit out of my chest. Coincidentally, this morning, my roommate asked me how I was feeling about the chest piece. I told her that as of last night, I seemed to have finally reached a point where I've adjusted to having it. She replied that I seemed less stressed to be wearing it.
My ancestors are Scottish; my last name is McKenzie. The McKenzie clan has historically been a bunch of scoundrels that usurped kings and caused a lot of trouble. They like to fight. (I've been told that the first McKenzies came to America during the Civil War simply because they heard there was an opportunity to battle). ;-) The chest piece is the first half of the McKenzie clan's motto. Our entire motto is "Virtute et valare, luceo non uro" which means "With virtue and valor, I shine, not burn."
I've always been interested in McKenzie clan history and I've specifically been intrigued with such an interesting motto. The motto makes sense to me for what I want in my life. As much as I talk about being a peaceloving hippie, I like to fight. I like to fight for big ideas, for my beliefs, to the ideologies that I stand for. I am done subscribing to things I don't believe in. It is time to pave my own way, to choose the reality I want, to raise my middle finger to those who stand in my way. But I want to do it virtuously (for the good of those around me), and with bravery (not out of fear). Only with virtue and valor can you shine... otherwise you simply burn up. Your actions don't matter if they aren't done with virtue and valor, no matter how passionate you are.
The second half (luceo non uro) will go on my back sometime next year.
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