Beauty is only skin deep, Tattoo goes down to your bone

I have always believed that a tattoo should tell a story. If it does not then it’s not a tattoo, it’s just another style statement. Every body has that one story in their life, and what better way to tell that story than a tattoo. This is the story of my Tattoo- A phoenix on my right arm.
I was always a good student, a darling of teachers and parents. My path was well laid out, SRCC and then MBA from IIM. Expectations kept rising and I toiled hard to keep up with them. Even if I scored 70 % it was not good enough-" Not from you J, you are loosing focus, this is not good enough". The pressure started getting on my nerves, I could not sleep at nights. Before the exams I started going blank, while writing exams my hands used to get so sweaty that I could hardly hold the pen. I just could not handle the pressure and screwed up my 12th exams, got 70 percent.
I said to myself "It's just one exam, I still have whole life ahead of me and I’ am going to make best use of it". I did well in my first year of graduation and started preparing simultaneously for MBA. Life was good again and I was back on track. But well, life had other plans for me. Just before my second year exam I got severe jaundice. I was determined not let this effect me, I use to wake up at night to study so that nobody came to know that I was exerting myself. All this exertion deteriorated my condition even further and well, I could not give my second year exams.
I was still determined not to give up.We humans have this spirit to survive which shouts and screams inside-"I will not give up". I gave my 2nd year exams next year and did extremely well. The MBA prep was going great. I said to myself-" The worse is behind me and now there is only one way and that’s up". I was all set for my final year exams and MBA entrance, nothing could go wrong now. But I guess I spoke a little too soon. I met with a fatal accident, a life threatening one.
I survived the accident, but I was completely broken from within. I just could fight anymore. I told my dad in the hospital-" Dad, I can’t fight life anymore, I am destined to fail". My Dad looked in my eyes and replied- " J, when you were fighting for your life, the doc told me that your chance to survive depend on your will to live more than anything else. And I told him, then he will live doc, he bloody well will live!".” Son, you are alive now so why do you want to stop living".
Those five minutes changed my life. I was ready for the new challenge. I told life-" You give me your best shot and I will give you mine, lets see who wins". I finished my grad and dropped the plan for MBA, at least for the time being since I had already lost 2 years. Plus I had few things to prove to myself before I did MBA. I took up a job and started from scratch. I started working my ass off and moved up the ladder. I took up projects which were messy and others were too cautious to touch them. I had no fear anymore, I had started my life from scratch time and again and if need be I could do it again. The risks paid off and I was on! I had risen from my ashes.
That’s what my Tattoo is all about. It’s got Phoenix in the middle and rays all around, the rays depict the God and it means with gods grace anybody can rise from their ashes.
That's my story, what’s yours?