For junior Bruna Kleinman, the shaded horse tattoo began with an agreement. While she was still in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Bruna made a promise with her childhood best friend, Anna, that if they got into college after high school, they would each get a tattoo. They never discussed what it would be or where they would get it. Instead, they left it at that: a simple promise.

It wasn’t until Bruna’s acceptance to St. Edward’s in 2015 that the two friends discovered a surprise they would carry for the rest of their lives. A couple days before leaving Brazil, Bruna and Anna met up to say their goodbye’s and decided to head to the pool. On Anna’s side rib was the exact same horse tattoo Bruna had gotten earlier when she received her acceptance. The friends were shocked, yet amazed by the coincidence. The shading may have been different (Bruna’s is completely filled while Anna’s is outlined), but the size and place were exactly the same.

“I wanted to get something that reminded me who I was growing up and who I was before college,” Bruna said. “Anna and I grew up together. We’re both from the ranch, we did rodeos together. I’ve been doing this my whole life.”

Just recently, Bruna decided to get another tattoo based off a one week trip with her mom in SeaWorld Orlando. Behind her left ear rests a tiny, black orca arched in perfect form. The independence and distance lead her to the impulsive, Saturday night act, and while she finds the orca “cute,” Bruna admits it is nowhere near as significant as her horse tattoo. The dark horse, with its legs in running motion and its mane flowing, symbolizes her friendship and family back home. It reminds her of who she is and who she wants to be. Unlike the orca, her horse took three years of planning and lots of convincing.

“My family is very, very, Catholic,” said Bruna. “I think I’m the first one in my whole family to have tattoos. My mom saw the orca for the first time last week and liked it because it’s about her, but I had to convince her for three years on getting the horse tattoo. She would tell me, ‘Child, read the bible!’”

Despite her family’s opinions, Bruna enjoys her hidden tattoos, one more than the other. She found that she’s grown a lot as a person between her first and second. Back in Brazil, Bruna had dreams of being a vet and living on a ranch. Some of those dreams continue to live on with a mere glance at her shaded horse.  As for her friendship with Anna, the two manage to communicate at least once a month. Either way, they know they have something that will link them together from miles away.

There are still more tattoos planned for Bruna in the future. She knows her next one could be impulsive, but the rest are to be carefully thought out. For now, she lives contently with her two tattoos, always looking back at the one she loves most to keep her grounded.

“I love my tattoos,” Bruna said. “They are like little secrets that only the people I want to can know about.”