The Road So Far 2.0: Always Keep Fighting

I don't know why I always get the urge to write late at night, my thoughts seem to flow better during this time. Anyway, I was inspired by Jared to share my story. I don't talk about this often, in fact I usually avoid bringing it up but it IS a subject that needs to be adressed and if it can help save one person it is beyond worth it.

I do have first hand experience with suicide. My dad suffered from bipolar disorder and struggled with it for as far back as I can remember. He ultimately took his own life in 2009 when I was 17. That was without a doubt the hardest thing I've ever had to go through and have been a strong advocate of suicide prevention ever since. 

On the flip side, I have also struggled with depression issues myself. Around the time I found Supernatural I was in a very dark place. I felt very lost and very lonely. There were times that year that the thought of suicide crossed my mind. I never made any attempts or any plans, but I did have those thoughts. 

Then I discovered Supernatural by chance. Did I think right away when I started watching it that it was going to save my life? No. I didn't even realize half of the affect that it would have on me. Honestly, I thought okay it's a show with 2 hot guys in a hot car with ghosts and monsters. But it made me happy. Then as I got more into the story I realized it was so much more. I related to these characters. I noticed immediately that I  connected very deeply with Sam. And then I discovered the fandom, and that gave me something to belong to. I especially loved how connected the cast was to the fans and the way they thought of them as family. 

Soon I didn't only have a connection to Sam, I also had one to Jared. He gave me happiness, he gave me hope and he gave me inspiration to keep going. Sometimes still during that year I would have moments of wanting to give up but knowing I was going to get to meet him was the main reason I wanted to push through. I wanted to be here for that. And meeting him was a truly life changing experience. We only exchanged a few words but he gave me so much inspiration to keep going. He is the reason I turned my life around, the reason I felt determined to get to a happier place. And even though I'm still working on getting to where I ultimately want to be, and even though I still have my moments of weakness I am inspired to always keep going, because of him.

I can't  think of a better campaign and better message for Jared to be a leader for. It is everything Supernatural, Sam Winchester and Jared Padalecki are to me. A symbol of hope, a symbol of strength, and an inspiration to never give up, to ALWAYS KEEP FIGHTING. And I couldn't be more proud of him, or to support this cause. You are an amazing individual Jared, I love you.❤️

Please if you or someone you know is suffering from depression, talk about it! And please support this amazing cause:

https://represent.com/Jared

The Road So Far 2.0: Getting Inked Up

After attending VegasCon 2014 I knew I wanted a Supernatural tattoo. I even decided that weekend that I wanted to get one. Because of the instant connection I had with fans and cast alike and the overwhelming feeling of family. I knew then that it meant more to me than just a TV show. That this story, these characters and this fandom would be a part of me for life. So I wanted to commemorate it with a tattoo.

I thought about the design a lot and while I loved the idea of getting the anti possession symbol and having the same tattoo as Sam and Dean, I also wanted something that represented what the show meant to me and to represent the SPN family.  I'd never  seen a traditional style Supernatural tattoo before but I thought it would be cool, so I came up with the idea of getting the colt which was a perfect symbol of the show with a banner that said "Saving People, Hunting Things" which of course the next line is "The Family Business" which represents my SPN Family.

I got it done by Lea Vendetta at Hart and Huntington (HUNTINGton!) Tattoo in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Which is a GORGEOUS shop by the way! Take a look:

Lea has a really cool way of combining styles and the design she came up with was amazing. It was like a portrait of the colt but still had a traditional feel which I loved. She also took so much time to make sure all the engravings were perfect on the gun and tried out a few different fonts for the banner. We decided on this for the final design and it was perfect.

Then she shrunk it down to fit on my arm and put the stencil on. We let that dry for about 5 minutes and then got started!

First of all I have to point out that Lea was totally awesome. We had great conversation and she got really interested in the show as I was telling her about it. She wanted to see pictures of the boys because I told her "they're nice to look at." And she said she would totally go for Sam which I loved. So she made it an easier process for me. The pain really wasn't that bad. She started with the outline, which only hurt around my wrist and my elbow. Then she went over the banner and the edges of the gun to make it thicker to make it look more traditional.

(And yes, I got tattooed in plaid. What other way is there to do so?)

Then she did the shading which honestly only hurt when she was wiping away the excess ink. 

And then finally she did color! And I will be honest and say this DID start to hurt towards the end because essentially she was tattooing over my skin twice. So it was very raw and stung a lot.

But I made it through in 4 hours and couldn't be happier with the result! It turned out better than I even imagined. And now I have peice of art forever on my body to show my dedication to my favorite TV show, my love for my SPN Family and to always also remind myself to never stop fighting which is what Supernatural is all about for me.❤️