"Most of my tattoos mean something personal to me, but my most recent tattoo is probably the most special, as it's the first time one garnered more than an eye roll reaction from my old-fashioned 92-year-old Sicilian grandmother. My four cousins and I all got the phrase "Gioia mia" tattooed on us in our nonna's handwriting. Gioia mia literally translates from Italian to "my joy," and my nonna uses it as a pet name for all of us. It conveys so much love, and for all of us to have it in her unique handwriting is so sweet now, but will be even more so when she's one day no longer with us. When I was the first of the cousins to show her the tattoo IRL, she cried and couldn't believe that her handwriting had magically been inked into my skin. Her reactions to my first eight tattoos were . . . not as lovely." — Alessia Santoro, family editor
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Alessia Santoro