Anyone who asks Deborah Thach how much ink she has will be told that she has only “one visible tattoo.” Though, in total, four intricate pieces grace her skin.

Throughout high school, the junior economics and information management and technology major was one of the most well-known female wrestlers in South Jersey. She constantly lost or gained weight to fit the weight class in which she could succeed the most. By senior year, she was the first female wrestler to make varsity.

The team’s motto, “no excuses,” now adorns her hip. This was her first tattoo, which she quickly built upon. Her second piece is the word “intelligence” in Urdu, and it’s the first of a trio she wants to get: intelligence, beauty and strength.

“These are the three words that I believe everyone on this planet needs to fulfill to reach nirvana, for lack of better word,” she said. The lyrical meaning is fitting, since Thach is a talented spoken-word poet.

The third piece gently curls across her hipbone: a duo of tribal butterflies. She strategically placed these pieces on her hips to hide them from her parents.

“My parents hate it so much, and my siblings say it’s ugly,” Thach said, describing her Cambodian-Chinese family’s current feelings. “Sophomore year of college I said, ‘They’ll just have to suck it up.’”

Coming to Syracuse has transformed Thach’s philosophies. She’s embraced meditation and loves being alone. Even in the pouring rain, she enjoys the solitude of the Quad, where she can close her eyes and let her thoughts dissipate with the dewy precipitation.

The same day she decided what tattoo she wanted next, she strode to Halo Tattoo on Marshall Street and had it done. Now, a lotus flower blooming into an Om, surrounded by artistic curves, sits in the very center of her upper back.

“You can’t define Om, because it means something different to everyone,” she said. “It’s a universal hum, a vibration.”

The focal point of the piece — the lotus flower — takes on different meanings depending on whether or not it is presented alongside the Om. It is a more sexual symbol alone, but that is not exactly what she wanted.

Thach muses that though she is a self-described aggressive woman, she appreciates her feminine side. Thus, in conjunction with the Om, the flower adds a certain aspect, a gentle touch, to the entire piece.

She has plans to continue the tattoo down her spine, although she adores the current simplicity of it.

Said Thach: “When I got this, I didn’t think of my religion. I didn’t think of anything. I just thought of getting something for me.”

Published on October 7, 2013 at 11:10 pm

Contact Naomi: ncfalk@syr.edu