Of Jessica Reuveni’s five tattoos, her first has the most spontaneous story. As a senior in high school, the currently sophomore social work major had a rebellious phase, skipping school to go visit Occupy Wall Street.

When she and her friends stumbled upon Washington Square Park, she noticed a man holding a sign. It read: “People care so much about money, but nobody cares about dinosaurs.”

Although she was overwhelmed by all of the people running around in fountains and acting foolish, the sign ended up being the part of the visit that consumed her thoughts.

“I felt like it was literally targeting me. All I could think about all day was this stupid sign,” she said with a laugh.

When she got home from the Occupy Wall Street festivities, she decided to head over to Starlight Tattoo in Rochelle Park, N.J.

Bill Tinsley, the artist of four of her five tattoos, proposed three hand-drawn dinosaurs to her, and she immediately picked one to get inked on the inside of her bottom lip.

“Senior year, Jessica was a really crazy kid,” Reuveni said about her younger self.

Her life had run smoothly up until a year and a half ago, when her big sister, Gabby, was hit and killed by a drunk driver.

The rest of her four tattoos all memorialize Gabby.

On the side of her right finger lies the numeral five — her sister’s favorite number.

Her right rib is home to a small angel and, on her back, the quote, “& I will always be the lucky one” next to three birds.

The final piece is a quote from Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” written on her left rib.

“In the story,” Reuveni said, “the guy realizes he’s living in a perfect place and it’s ideal, but he realizes that it’s not what he wants.”

She likens her mind-set to Huxley’s protagonist — living spontaneously yet never forgetting those memories that have shaped her being.

Published on April 22, 2014 at 1:00 am

Contact Naomi: ncfalk@syr.edu