Alright, many people have asked me what the tattoo means and why I of all people even want to get a tattoo. Well lets tackle the latter issue first. I have wanted a tattoo for a while now, and not only because those around me have some. I feel that the connotation of tattoos only belonging on certain types of people (uneducated, thuggish, boorish, etc) is very unfortunate because in society today there are more and more intellectuals with tattoos. A tattoo is also a form of art and expression. I have made it clear to all that the tattoo I have picked out was of my own original design, and I couldn't be prouder. Plus as a certain young man from canton who will remain nameless pointed out (cough, Christian) I have been trying to make myself more outgoing and expressive over the past two years. I am sick and tired of being cast into the nerd and geek negative stereotypes. As those of you who spend a decent amount of time with me these days at Drexel know, I am now a very, very outgoing person. A large part of this change in personality from my high school years has a lot to do with the self confidence I have gained not only through my academic and social pursuits but a great deal has come from my current girlfriend. I have finally come out of my shell ( I know its a cliche but I believe it fits the situation). I am a new man and this tattoo is a kind of reminder as well as a promise not only to the world but to myself that I will not doubt my own unique and fulfilling attributes ever again. Yes I will admit that I am overweight, but at this point I have come to terms with it and am starting to drop some weight here and there. I am quite comfortable with my physical self and although the occasional insult may set me off, I usually am the first one to point out my own "stature". I'm a big guy and I'm proud.
Anyway, enough rambling. I know a lot of you are wondering why this design is so significant and interesting to me. I started out the way I usually do, by searching through some of my art books, scanning deviantart, and sketching for a while. Then I got down to business. At first I thought I would draw some kanji in grass style (the Japanese equivalent of cursive), but I thought about it and the idea of simply having a word, even one as beautifully written as kanji, would ultimately leave me dissatisfied with myself. As many of you know I am no real artist, in fact there are some cases in which I would rather spend a weekend in a lab doing even the most boring experiments over and over than work with a specific medium (cough paint) so the majority of the art I create is usually monochromatic, mainly pencil but sometimes I use ink. I decided that I would turn to the internet to find a symbol which represented something "deep" that I could later use to explain why I had decided to endure puncturing my skin over and again to leave a mark on my body forever. After a few hours I stumbled across the caduceus. And no, it's not the first time I had seen the symbol before, but it was a revelation because I decided to research the origin of the symbol. It turns out that although it is widely recognized as the symbol of the medical profession, the symbol dates back to the time of the ancient Greeks. The Caduceus (capital C) is the name of the staff of Hermes. Hermes is the god of many things, but his staff was unique among the "weapons" of the various Greek gods. Unlike the uncontrolled, raw power of Zeus's thunderbolts, the Caduceus was not merely a weapon, but also a tool for healing. In fact that is what the two snakes represent, one is the healer and the other the injurer. I thought this duality an interesting concept, the idea that Hermes had not only the power, but the responsibility of wielding an object capable of both hurt and harm. This is where I got the idea of incorporating kanji into the overall design. I thought a simple message best. I thought of what one word could symbolize the responsibily and still serve as a bit of a warning to myself. Remember. A simple yet powerful statement. I brand myself with the word remember and I promise myself in ink to always remember not only that my actions have consequences, but they can also have benefits. Evil is only allowed to exist if good men stand idle. It is a promise to myself and the world that I will always remember the weight of my actions and the effects they create. It is a promise to never return to the shell, no the prison, I finally escaped.
Although many of you have expressed how much you enjoyed the original design, a great many of you also recognized the unfortunate limitations of the tattoo artform. The intricate details of the wings and the snakes would eventually fade and become distorted, thus I decided to simplify the design. I also chose to close the mouth of one of the snakes to represent the helpful aspect of the caduceus as well as to create a greater contrast between healing and harming. Overall I am quite pleased with the design. I even thought that if I ever became entrepreneur of some kind, the design would make a nice logo.

Well there you all have it, I hope this explains how I decided the design of the tattoo, but i have a bit more info to give you. Towards the end of my senior year of high school I toyed around with creating a tattoo, and well lets just say the designs were nowhere near the thoughtful approach I have taken above...