Amanda Ray, a 19-year-old undecided CSUN freshman, has four small tattoos that all mean the world to her.
All of her tattoos are located on her left wrist, except one.
“My best friend Amy lives in Maryland and I live in San Bernardino,” Ray said. “We met on Twitter through bands and mutual friends and our friendship just blossomed from there.”
They were online friends for three years and finally met in person at an In-N-Out located near LAX.
“About two months ago I decided to fly out and meet up with her in Maryland, for the second year in a row,” Ray said. “After a few days of hanging out we decided to go for it and just get our best friend tattoo.”
They both agreed on getting the coordinates to the In-N-Out location tattooed on their left shoulder blades.
Although the feeling of having a needle poke them repeatedly for a rather long period of time isn’t the best feeling, Ray said it’s a rather calming feeling.
“I got my other three tattoos during some tough times in my life,” Ray said. “I got ‘just breathe’ the day I turned 18. It’s a great reminder for me. Dealing with anxiety isn’t an easy thing. It’s easy to look down at my wrist and know that ‘hey you can do it’.”
Along with this, Ray’s other tattoo is of a treble cleft because she said there is nothing else that can comfort her and music is always there to make her feel better.
Ray also has a tattoo inspired by the “Harry Potter” series.
“‘Harry Potter’ brings so much joy in my life, and I grew up with the films. I can easily put on one of the films and instantly be happy.”
Ray plans on getting more tattoos in the future, and although it started as a coincidence that everything is on her left side, she plans to continue the pattern she started.