Aidan Meyer has three tattoos on his arm: an hourglass, a figure of a man and an edelweiss flower. Each is a symbol of overcoming an adverse period of his life.

Meyer, a senior public relations major, got his first tattoo when he was a sophomore at Syracuse University, at a time when he felt that he was lacking direction and purpose. The hourglass illustration comprises three glyphs that represent three valuable actions he wanted to embody as he moved forward in life: create, challenge and transform. Meyer said these three glyphs, particularly transform, remind him to accept change over the passage of time.

Kali Bowden | Staff Photographer

“The key factor is to just never stop and keep going, and you’ll evolve by having difficult experiences,” Meyer said. “A lot of people place a lot of emphasis on tradition. I think it’s also important to grow as a human and realize that not everything will always stay the same.”

Meyer’s second tattoo came after one summer when he was living on his own in New York City. The struggles he overcame that summer — sleeping on a futon, getting kicked out of his apartment, being independent — helped him grow and mature in a relatively short period of time. He also lost weight and discovered a new level of self-acceptance that he had never encountered before. To celebrate this era of his life, he decided to get a figure of a naked man to represent coming to terms with who he is: namely, his body image and homosexuality.

“Many people are kind of shocked when they see it for the first time,” Meyer said. “That’s kind of the point, though.”

Finally, Meyer’s third tattoo is a celebration of the life of his father, who died last spring. Meyer has many fond childhood memories of his father singing “Edelweiss” from “The Sound of Music.” When his mother told him there was a volunteer in the hospital playing “Edelweiss” on the violin the last time she visited Meyer’s father in hospice care, he knew that would be his tattoo.

“When I look at that tattoo now, it just makes me happy. It reminds me of a happier and easier time,” Meyer said.

Each hurdle and challenge Meyer has endured throughout his life has shaped him into the man he is today. Should he ever forget the valuable lessons he learned from those experiences, all he would have to do is look down at his arm.

Published on April 10, 2017 at 8:33 pm

Contact Julie: jlmccu01@syr.edu