My authoritarian father ruled our house, and long after I left home, I continued to hear his voice. All the negative things he had ever said about me still colored my perception of who I was.
After I got married, my mother-in-law welcomed me into her heart and helped me feel better about myself. She had become a widow at a young age and had raised seven children alone. I tried to emulate her strength and resilience.
When my own daughter grew more independent, she decided to get an eyebrow ring. Watching her undergo the procedure at a tattoo-and-piercing parlor, I thought it would be symbolic to have a small butterfly tattooed on my ankle as a reminder that I was free from my past. So I did.
