Two recurring themes usually appear in tattoo meanings.

People often get tattoos that identify with their true selves, or honor a family member and/or tradition.

Freshman Ayanna Edwards has a beautiful tattoo on her left shoulder blade that grasps both of these concepts.

The tattoo is two deep red roses on her left shoulder blade, brightly standing out when she wears anything that doesn’t cover her shoulder.

She got the tattoo in March and said that on a scale of one to ten, the pain was about a five or six.

“I’m not sure if I have a high pain tolerance or not, but getting the tattoo wasn’t that bad. It was uncomfortable for the first couple of minutes, but after awhile I got used to the pain and it didn’t really bother me,” Edwards said.

Other than her love for flowers, Edwards got her tattoo to display her individuality and represent a family tradition. Every woman in her family has a tattoo of a flower on their shoulder, so Edwards wanted to keep the tradition going.

She was still able to make her tattoo more personal to herself.

“I’m Puerto Rican, so all the women in my family have a hibiscus flower tattooed on their shoulder because it’s the traditional Puerto Rican flower. I always thought that the hibiscus looked cartoonish as a tattoo, and roses are my favorite flower so I got those instead,” Edwards said.

Edwards stated that she loves roses so much because they remind her of her grandmother.

“Her big thing was rose bushes–she always had them in her backyard,” Edwards said.

The roses that remind her of her grandmother display how she followed a family tradition while adding her own individuality and uniqueness to it.

Edwards loves her roses and said that she would like another tattoo in the future, but she’s not sure exactly what it will be.

Follow Amanda on Twitter @amarkoepolo