After years of being bullied as a child, a woman has found peace expressing herself with tattoos.
Lisa Strange, 33, from Finland, was just 16 when she started getting tattoos and piercings done.
Lisa was bullied by her peers in school for a decade and ultimately came to the realisation that it was better for her to be 100% herself without fear.
‘I was bullied a lot in school for ten long years,’ said Lisa
‘Even when I looked “normal” I was bullied.
‘This made me feel really insecure about myself and I hated myself.
‘I started to believe in the things my bullies told me every day.
‘I had a very bad self-esteem and I thought that I was disgusting.’
When Lisa was 16, she hit a turning point.
‘I just decided that what the hell, they will bully and isolate me anyway so why not have my own way?’ she said.
‘From that point, I started to dress pretty rock-and-roll oriented.
‘I got my first piercings and a tattoo when I turned 16, when my friend made a stick and poke star on my right foot.
‘I was always inspired by Rock n’ Roll and punk looks and alternative cultures will always have a special place in my heart.
‘I feel much better about myself now and after each tattoo, I feel a bit more myself.
‘I guess you could say it’s almost a spiritual thing for me to get tattooed.
‘I don’t regret any of my tattoos, never have.’
At the time of writing, the musician and book-lover thinks she has close to 100 tattoos, and has 12 piercings.
‘I have never sat down and counted my tattoos, but they are almost 100,’ she said.
‘I have nine face tattoos, but I am getting two more in the coming few weeks.
‘I can’t even estimate the expense of my tattoos as I have been tattooed in so many countries and in different currencies.
‘Some were cheap while others were expensive, but I have a lot of tattoo artist friends, so I usually end up getting a good price.
‘I also have 12 piercings out of which eight of them are on my face.
‘I used to have a lot more piercings, but I took a lot of them out when I started getting more tattoos.’
The mermaid fan now lives with her musician fiancé Ole K. Lilleeidet, 29.
‘We live in Finland with our two cats Judas Pus and Lauritz,’ Lisa said.
‘Ole and I both play different instruments and sing.
‘Our home life is a lot of jamming together and rubbing lotion to each other’s healing tattoos.
‘I’d say instruments and my books take the most space in our flat and I love it.’
Mostly, Lisa gets compliments on her ink, but not everybody is accepting.
‘I have definitely noticed that being a heavily tattooed woman is a concept that makes some people uncomfortable,’ said Lisa.
‘Men, especially, tend to get uncomfortable.
‘Other than that, people take my tattoos pretty well and most of the time I get to hear compliments on them.
‘One time I took a city train in Copenhagen and this older guy with strong hippie vibes sat next to me.
‘He remarked how despite him not liking facial ink, he loved my forehead tattoo.
‘Even when people say some rude things, I am more amused than annoyed.
‘I am past the phase of being bullied and very happy and satisfied in my identity as a tattooed woman.’
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