Months 2-6, 2019. You are my favorite so far.

So, I know what you're thinking. Tattoos are addictive and I should have known better.

And what I'm going to tell you... is that you're actually totally right. These are addictive, but I promise I won't regret a single one.

I've always wanted tattoos, but I knew I wanted them to mean something to me. I believe they are truly pieces of art and if you got them solely because you liked them, I support you. I just want them to represent something that really impacted my life, or will impact my life, in the best ways possible. My newest additions are "2019" and 5 tally marks to represent the 5 months that I'll have lived here.

If you've been keeping up, you know that 2018 was the hardest year of my 20 so far. What I've started to realize is that 2019 has topped the past 6 years already just within the first 3 months. I have experienced far more happiness in these 3 months than I have in any relationship, any high school memory, anything that has happened since I started middle school, actually. Now, I mean no disrespect to the people and places I spent those years with. I love you and our memories wholeheartedly, but those years were hard. So hard that taking my own life was a very considerable option at many points during those years. Dramatic as I may seem, these 3 months have made me laugh, smile, and appreciate the things I've been through for getting me to this point. Surviving those years got me to this point; this point of true happiness.

When I get back from New Zealand, 2019 will be starting its' 7th month but I'll have already experienced a lifetime's worth of incredible memories with friends I'm beginning to love. I know things will be different when I get back, that point is inevitable, but right now I am choosing to continue my happiness into the remaining 5 months of this year. I will continue to travel to new places, I will support my family more in their education jobs, and social lives, I will appreciate my friends at home even more, and I will love every second for what it's worth. Each year of my life so far has included some hardship that I've had to grow through, and I have no doubt this year will be the same, but I am going into it with a solid heart and mind this time. 2019, I love you and I am ready to live the rest of you.

Now for the 5 tallies.

Regardless of what the rest of 2019 has in store for me, these 5 months, even though I haven't been through them all yet, will always be considered monumental to my personal growth. Each tally, each month... I have learned and grown so much while being here so far and I want to make sure I never forget what they've done for me. I want the tattoos on my body to be representative of the things I'll always hold close to my heart and I know these 5 months will be held tightly for a very long time. The friends I've made, the places I've seen, the love I feel inside and out, and the inspiration I see; all of it is turning me into the happy version of myself that I've always wanted to get to know. I like who I'm becoming. I like the person I am around the friends I've made. I like using my blessed vision to see these incredible places.

Months 2-6, especially, but 2019 as a whole... I love you. You are my favorite so far.

Love it already

-Tess