12/13/2025
Being a Blue-Collar woman taught me grit… but it didn’t teach me happiness.
Time really is wild. It feels like only yesterday I was living in a rig shack, gone 21 days out of the month. It was exciting, gritty, and full of lessons, but also incredibly stressful. Being a bluecollar woman takes patience, grit, and thick skin. Most days you’re seen as a threat or a distraction before you’re seen as capable.
I showed up anyway. I rolled with the punches, worked my ass off, and proved I belonged alongside some truly wicked people. I had a blast but deep down, I knew it wasn’t who I wanted to be forever.
When spring breakup hit in 2024, I took my layoff and did some serious soul searching. That’s when I realized how much time I was spending in my friend’s tattoo shop. I’ve been getting tattooed by .tattoos for over 9 years, and over time our artist-client relationship slowly turned into a friendship. Now she’s not only my mentor and someone I deeply admire, but also like a big sister to me.
Somehow, we just clicked. The shop feels like home. Every day I walk into , it doesn’t feel like work, it feels like exactly where I’m meant to be. We laugh, we create, and I’m endlessly grateful for the path unfolding in front of me.
If there’s one thing this chapter has taught me, it’s this:
It’s okay to start over. It’s okay to try something new. You can be a jack of all trades until you find the one you’re meant to master. Don’t stop searching until you find what fills your heart.
Never give up on your dreams. Stay true to your desires. The right path will find you 🤍
