Junior Erica Scully got her first tattoo at Sterling Body Gallery on Feb. 9. The tattoo, a black infinity sign on her mid-back, is a representation of the eternal love she has for the one person who shaped her life most.

After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, Erica’s mother, Suzanne Scully, passed away on Feb. 1, 2010.

In an effort to forever remember her mother in more than just thoughts, Scully chose to display the relationship they shared through body art. Commemorating her mother’s battle against cancer, Scully received the tattoo shortly after the second year anniversary of her passing.

“My mom will forever be with me,” said Scully. “She’s always in my thoughts of course, but now I feel like we will always have a physical connection as well.”

Scully originally decided on a complex design which incorporated her mother’s horoscope sign, the Leo, and the purple pancreatic cancer ribbon.

However, after much deliberation over the possibility of the color ink fading, Scully changed her mind to a much simpler design: a black infinity sign.

“I liked the Leo design but I wanted something simpler,” said Scully. “The Leo has a more obvious meaning, but the infinity sign spoke to me and just seemed right.”

Since Scully is underage, she was accompanied by her father and best friend junior Monika Shayka.

“I really respect Erica’s tattoo because it means something special,” said Shayka. “I don’t understand why people get tattoos that have no meaning to them. I think that if you’re going to permanently alter your body, it should be something you’ll be happy with years from now. It’s why I wanted to be with Erica to support her.”

Though she was sure of her decision, Scully had a few hesitations before making the final appointment to get her tattoo.

“I was anxious because I knew it was going to hurt,” said Scully. “I was still wondering if this design was the one I really wanted to get, but I just kept telling myself ‘you only live once’ and that was the motivation I needed to finally go through it.”

Scully will always carry the memories of her mother’s struggles during her fight against cancer, and said the pain of the tattoo was minor in comparison to the pain her mother endured.

“My mom was so strong in going through so much and has such a large impact on everything I do,” said Scully. “This tattoo is a little thing that brings me closer to her.”