This tattoo belongs to Dese’Rae Stage.

Sam tapped her hand on the steering wheel. Patrick held his hand outside the car and made air waves. And I just sat between them. After the song finished, I said something.

“I feel infinite.”

And Sam and Patrick looked at me like I said the greatest thing they ever heard. Because the song was that great and because we all really paid attention to it. Five minutes of a lifetime were truly spend, and we felt young in a good way.”

- Excerpt from The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

(45 votes, average: 4.60 out of 5)

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This tattoo was submitted by Alyssa:

This is my first tattoo. “On the Road” is so important to who I am today and was practically my bible when I was 17. It’s a reminder to me always live a life filled with passion.

“the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes ‘Awww!’”

- Jack Kerouac, On The Road

(19 votes, average: 4.11 out of 5)

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This was submitted by Chealsye.

I adore Vonnegut, and got this tattoo roughly two months after a serious two year relationship ended. The break-up drove me into depression, and near suicide. When I informed my ex’s best friend I had to stop speaking with him, he responded with the quote. Most people see it when I wear dresses and inquire about it, but never fully get it. Sometimes, weeks later, they will tell me they finally really get it, not just what it means to me, but what it means to them too. But for the ones who do not fully get it, they will one day, unfortunately. I believe it takes a lot of hurt, a death or the dying of something important to make someone understand. So it goes.

This was posted as a part of “So it Goes” Saturdays.  The phrase “so it goes” appears in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five 116 times.  Can you help me collect 116 “so it goes” tattoos?  7 down, 109 to go.

(19 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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Andy submitted this birdcage tattoo:

I got this pen-and-ink drawing by Kurt Vonnegut on my arm on January 3rd. The empty birdcage never appeared in any of his novels, but refers to a specific scene in Breakfast of Champions. The scene consists of the book’s main character, Kilgore Trout, trying to set free a pet bird he’s kept for years. When the bird refuses to leave the cage, Trout says something to the effect of ”Good choice, Bill. Now you’ve still got something to wish for.”

The image first appeared as a silkscreen later in Vonnegut’s life, when he took up pen-and-ink drawing as a hobby. These were silkscreened in limited numbers and sold on Vonnegut’s website. It became the front page of his official website on the day he died.

I began reading Kurt Vonnegut when I was thirteen and found my way of thinking both reflected and transformed in his writing. He almost single handedly guided me through high school, and his death when I was sixteen felt like losing a grandparent. I chose the birdcage as a memorial because its stark, proud simplicity reminds me of everything I love about both his literary style and his philosophy. When set against the backdrop of his death, it conveys a sentiment not unlike the subtitle of his novel Slapstick: “Lonesome no more.”

(19 votes, average: 4.53 out of 5)

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This tattoo was submitted by Tirra.

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

- All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter by J. R. R. Tolkien

This poem was written for The Lord of the Rings and appears twice in The Fellowship of the Ring.  In Peter Jackson’s film adaptation, it appears in Return of the King.

(26 votes, average: 4.04 out of 5)

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This tattoo was submitted by Bethany.

I got this tattoo about seven years ago.  I was following a carload of friends to go  play some basketball and we were nearly there when they turned left and I suddenly decided to turn right–I guess I’ve never liked sports.  Instead I impulsively drove over to a shop and got Baby’s First Tattoo right then and there all by myself.  The tattoo artist and the piercer ganged together to try to get me to place it upside from where I wanted it as to make it readable when my arm was to my side.  I wouldn’t budge and they were both sure I would regret going against the “tattoo norm”.  Afterwords I went home and fell asleep where my basketball friends later woke me up wondering where I had been and why in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks I had a bandage around my wrist.  The end.

The phrase “so it goes” appears in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five 116 times.

Can you help me collect 116 “so it goes” tattoos?  6 down, 110 to go.

(12 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)

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Amy’s tattoo comes from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain.

it helps me to let go of guilt i have from the past, as well as not freak out about what is to come. i am a teacher. teaching is a wonderful profession, but can also be quite stressful. i am very hard on myself at times, thinking i should do everything perfect the first time around. this helps to remind me that am i forever learning, along with my third grade students. i struggled with the font. originally i wanted to use ‘american typewriter’, but then went with my own handwriting to make it more personal… it looks as though i scribbled on my wrist with a sharpie, but i like that.

(32 votes, average: 4.59 out of 5)

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This tattoo is on Becca:

My tattoo is a quote from the Catcher in the Rye, spoken by Mr. Antolini. I’m not really a huge fan of the book itself, but this quote really sums up how I feel about learning.

“Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You’re by no means alone on that score, you’ll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept record of their troubles. You’ll learn from them – if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.“

- Excerpt from Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

(46 votes, average: 4.63 out of 5)

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This tattoo also belongs to Kristen and is a tribute to Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

(23 votes, average: 2.52 out of 5)

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This tattoo belongs to Kristen.  It is the scarlet A (The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne) with a harpoon through it (Moby Dick by Herman Melville).

(24 votes, average: 3.58 out of 5)

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