“Roam” was the first big mistake I remember making in life. Back in elementary school, I was in a spelling bee, and after studying a ton of words, I was pretty confident going into the competition. I spelled a couple words correctly but then came the word “roam.” Even after the moderator used it in a sentence, I took a pause, and spelled it R-O-M-E. She told me I was incorrect and I could feel my face get warm. I took my seat and sat through the rest of the spelling bee humiliated that I got eliminated on such an easy word and I felt like dying.

Flash forward. 1) I didn’t die and 2) I never spelled “roam” nor “Rome” incorrectly ever since. “Roam” taught me that you’ll learn from every mistake you make in life, and you become a better person because of it. Since that spelling bee, I’ve made a ton of mistakes and have improved myself from them. A lot of times I dwell on mistakes instead of trying to get past them, and my new tattoo will be a visual reminder to live…and learn.

Also, I really want to travel more and experience the world, which is why I decided to get this tattoo while in New York City. It seemed fitting. That and…it looks pretty damn cool.

Here’s what my first tattoo means…