at peace and full of hope

By now, most of you have seen my new tattoo on my foot. I got this tattoo (my second) back in April, just a couple days before I officially withdrew from UK. I wanted to mark my decision in some way that had meaning, and I had committed to Brandon a few weeks before to getting a tattoo when he went to get his own tattoo, his first.
So it seemed appropriate to do something so permanent as a tattoo - because to me, this decision to end my PhD career is also a permanent one. It's a decision I'd struggled with for over two years and now I was ready to make peace with my decision.
The dove with an olive branch as a symbol of peace was easy enough - and a couple weeks ago, a friendly stranger (the gentleman who gave me the lovely pedicure in the picture above) also reminded me of the powerful symbol of hope that the dove with the olive branch also carries.
Noah, having been on his amazing ark for many days, not sure if he was ever going to see land again, was visited by a bird carrying an olive branch - hope for dry land.
So my tattoo represents being at peace with my decision, and hope for a future filled with other great opportunities.