12/365

I have a feeling that this tattoo is going to be showing up a lot in my 365, so might as well tell its story now.

I spent five months studying in Sweden last year (Jan 09-May 09). I traveled in a group that went as far north as Kiruna and south to Karlshamn. It honestly was the trip of a lifetime, and the people I met, the places I had the opportunity to visit--it all still seems unreal at points.
Over my spring break, during which we all had the freedom to travel wherever we wanted, I decided to go to Gotland, and I fell in love. As a history major, Gotland's past interested me to no end, and the time I spent there was filled with roadtrips to bronze-age burials and medieval churches---I was in heaven. One church which I wandered into, in the town of Dalhem, was immaculately preserved, and the paintings on the walls still looked new.




I found this little guy above a doorway near the back of the church, and was drawn to him. I'm not very religious, but for some reason this image stayed with me, and in August, I decided to get him tattooed on my arm.
I don't know, I find him to be a nice little reminder that there's some good out there, that some people still do believe in the good of others, y'know, that sort of deal.