Semicolon tattoo: Here’s what it means and why it matters

The conversation around mental health has been gaining more attention as folks normalize the importance of communicating needs and opening up dialogue. Project Semicolon was a social media movement started in 2013, a “movement dedicated to presenting hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide, addiction, and self-injury. Project Semicolon exists to encourage, love, and inspire.” In a sentence, an author uses a semicolon when they could’ve ended a sentence but chose not to. Project Semicolon frames this as, “The author is you and the sentence is your life.”

This originally started as a day to draw a semicolon on your body and photograph it, but it has now grown into a more permanent reminder for folks of their struggle, victory and survival to be tattooed on their bodies. The Semicolon Tattoo Project partners with the Agora Crisis Center, giving people the resources they need during times of crisis.