Back in June, I was listening to all my City and Colour albums, prepping myself for the release of Little Hell. As I was cleaning my room and listening to Bring Me Your Love and Body in a Box came on. I wasn’t really paying attention, when I thought I heard the song mention the name, “Johnny”. I re-winded the song a few times and sure enough, it was “Johnny” that I heard. Instantly, I broke down. A lot of people know who know me, know that I lost my cousin, Johnny, back in April. It’s been rough for everyone since he was taken from us, and it’s a pain that everyone who was blessed to know Johnny, will have to deal with for the rest of their lives. So hearing his name in a song that I’ve listened to multiple times in my life, was a huge shock at the time. I contemplated multiple ideas for tattoos. One, being the album cover for Sometimes with We all find our way back home in the banner, which holds great meaning that takes a while to explain. Another was antlers with Johnny Kwiatkowski written underneath since he was such an avid hunter. I was set on this idea, then I realized a few people were probably going to take the antlers route. I’ve always been a City and Colour fan, so when I realized Johnny’s name was in a song, it was a no-brainer. “Johnny lived a good life,” you’ll hear them say Placement wise, when I was still set on the antlers with his name, I was going to get it on the back of my neck. I thought it’d be perfect, since I could hide it, yet still manage to have it show if I wanted. I quickly realized I wanted it visible to me at all times. It was going to be on my wrist. Then I thought it’d be too crammed. Let’s face it, Kwiatkowski isn’t the shortest last name out there. I realized the antler route would probably be taken by many, so I changed my idea all together.  My final decision was the Body in a Box line on my forearm. I picked a place where I will see it everyday. It’s not so much a reminder that he’s gone, but more of a reminder that I’m lucky (lucky being a huge understatement, keep in mind) that he was in my life. I never called him John. It was always Johnny. He still is my big cousin, Johnny. Not a day goes by when I don’t think about him. Without actually realizing it until he was gone, he had a big effect on my life, and I’ll forever be grateful for that. I got my tattoo done at The Tattoo Shop in Edmonton, Alberta by Maria.

Back in June, I was listening to all my City and Colour albums, prepping myself for the release of Little Hell. As I was cleaning my room and listening to Bring Me Your Love and Body in a Box came on. I wasn’t really paying attention, when I thought I heard the song mention the name, “Johnny”. I re-winded the song a few times and sure enough, it was “Johnny” that I heard. Instantly, I broke down.

A lot of people know who know me, know that I lost my cousin, Johnny, back in April. It’s been rough for everyone since he was taken from us, and it’s a pain that everyone who was blessed to know Johnny, will have to deal with for the rest of their lives. So hearing his name in a song that I’ve listened to multiple times in my life, was a huge shock at the time.

I contemplated multiple ideas for tattoos. One, being the album cover for Sometimes with We all find our way back home in the banner, which holds great meaning that takes a while to explain. Another was antlers with Johnny Kwiatkowski written underneath since he was such an avid hunter. I was set on this idea, then I realized a few people were probably going to take the antlers route. I’ve always been a City and Colour fan, so when I realized Johnny’s name was in a song, it was a no-brainer. “Johnny lived a good life,” you’ll hear them say

Placement wise, when I was still set on the antlers with his name, I was going to get it on the back of my neck. I thought it’d be perfect, since I could hide it, yet still manage to have it show if I wanted. I quickly realized I wanted it visible to me at all times. It was going to be on my wrist. Then I thought it’d be too crammed. Let’s face it, Kwiatkowski isn’t the shortest last name out there. I realized the antler route would probably be taken by many, so I changed my idea all together.  My final decision was the Body in a Box line on my forearm.

I picked a place where I will see it everyday. It’s not so much a reminder that he’s gone, but more of a reminder that I’m lucky (lucky being a huge understatement, keep in mind) that he was in my life. I never called him John. It was always Johnny. He still is my big cousin, Johnny. Not a day goes by when I don’t think about him. Without actually realizing it until he was gone, he had a big effect on my life, and I’ll forever be grateful for that.

I got my tattoo done at The Tattoo Shop in Edmonton, Alberta by Maria.