Reap what you sow

Getting a tattoo can be a nerve-wracking process that can involve a lot of questioning and a moderate amount of soul searching. Depending on one's school of thought on getting tattooed, these questions one might ask include: what? where (both place and placement)? in what style? by whom? why? ARE YOU SURE? when? ARE YOU REALLY SURE? Some people get tattooed for "deep" reasons (connecting with culture, a visceral memory, affiliation to faith or gang), some as an expression of personality, some for more aesthetic reasons (these monmon cats look dope af!). None of these are wrong way. 

If you really think those monmon cats are just plain cool, you're not alone, because I do, too. A tattoo is a personal expression, meaning that the judgement that ultimately matters comes from the wearer. 

That all being said, I figured I'd blog to document my process of getting my most recent ink: freehand lettering that says "Reap what you sow" done by Tony Salgado at Por Vida Tattoo in Upland, California (IE REPRESENT!)

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"But peace to the people who don't ever preach in the front of a classroom. All day long, planting seeds of revolution, We dedicate this song."

- bars from "Commencement Day" by Blue Scholars

"A classroom is always a reflection of its teacher."

- teaching wisdom

I'm not sure where, or from who I first heard that a classroom reflects its teacher, but it's a truth that I've come to sincerely believe. Sometimes this is a bitter pill to swallow. If your student's are disorganized, a reflective teacher asks "how am I facilitating their organization?" If students display negativity, either in attitude or language, a reflective teacher asks "how am I fostering a culture of positivity?" This idea makes a lot of sense-- our youth are impressionable, reactive, and learn from adults that serve as role models. While it's impossible for even master teachers to dictate every single thing that happens within the walls of their classroom, I have found it essential to my practice to ask myself why certain things happen. Why is Tyrone reacting like that? What seeds am I planting? It's almost impossible for teachers to see or predict the impact their practice might have on a student. Instead, we must have faith that we're sowing and watering the right seeds. (Please grow to be a revolutionary, a lifelong learner, a good person, please!)

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As the screenshot from urban dictionary above points out, "Reap what you sow" has biblical origins. The part of Galatians that this comes from is referred to by some Biblical scholars as the Law of Christ, which essentially functions as a New Testament fulfillment of the Ten Commandments. As beautifully stated by whoever wrote that urban dictionary entry, it is an expression of "the basic nature of God's justice." It alludes to nature in a literal sense-- reap and sow are verbs borrowed from agriculture. And if you can't tell by the name of this blog, nature metaphors work for me. 

After all, if the nature of the universe resembles the natural world around us, this makes sense (and not in an exclusively Christian way). Not only are we told this by soil that grows the food that nourishes us, we were taught this when we learned about "cause and effect" in elementary school. We're even told this by music artists like the New Radicals ("we only get what we give!") and Kendrick Lamar on "Alright." The prodigious emcee spits "Lord knows 20 of 'em in my Chevy, tell 'em all to come and get me Reapin' everything I sow, so my karma come," reminding us that this biblical idea isn't all that different from Eastern karma.  

This is important to remember in a world where countless years of injustice have led to systems of oppression that have made justice complicated, convoluted, and difficult to attain. As I continue to ponder attending law school, the nature of justice is something I always want to have in the back of my mind, now aided by the words on the top of my chest. 

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This tattoo, like my first two, are done in the black and grey tradition that is native to Southern California, to barrios, to prisons and to OGs. While I'm acutely aware that I am not Chicano, I did grow up in the Inland Empire, and developed an aesthetic tastes while surrounded by diverse cultures. Black and grey and lettering tattoos are things that I've seen around me my whole life. While American traditional, Japanese, and Pacific Island style tattoos all pique my attention, black and grey has felt right to me so far. 

Tony Salgado does great black and grey work, and lettering in particular. His work speaks for itself, and he's as West Coast OG as they come (he schooled me on the 909s own Suga free!). His shop, Por Vida Tattoo, is located in none other than the city in which I was reaped: Upland, California.