Beaux Wongwaisayawan’s tattoo is a constant reminder of her grandfather’s influence and guidance in her life.

Her final memory with her grandfather occurred on New Year’s Eve 2009, seven days before he died. Wongwaisayawan, a sophomore sociology and international relations major, and her family took a trip to Chiang Mai in the northern part of their native country of Thailand to celebrate the new year.

Wongwaisayawan recalled releasing lanterns into the sky that night and noticing that that the moon was abnormally, but beautifully, bright.

“To this day, I have yet to see a full moon that big,” Wongwaisayawan said. “It was full, it was perfect, it was bright. It was an amazing night.”

Her family returned home on New Year’s Day, but on Jan. 7, 2010, they received a phone call that her grandfather had unexpectedly passed away in his sleep.

Five years later, after contemplating different ways to get a tattoo of the moon, Wongwaisayawan decided to get the phases of the moon tattooed on her left rib cage in remembrance of her grandfather. However, she decided to leave out one phase — the new moon — to represent the seven days between New Years and her grandfather’s death.

“Whenever I look up at the sky now, I think of my grandfather when I see the moon,” Wongwaisayawan said.

Every phase of the moon has a special significance to Wongwaisayawan. During the full moon phase, her grandfather is very much present with her, and during the other phases he is looking out for the rest of her family members, she said.

Losing her grandfather was difficult, she said, but it reinforced the importance of her family in her life.

“Before he passed away, I kind of took my family for granted,” Wongwaisayawan said. “I kind of thought they would always just be there.”

Now that she is in college, traveling from the United States to home in Thailand can be difficult — she usually only returns home for summers and winters.

“Being here, I feel like I’m losing time with my family,” Wongwaisayawan said. “Before my grandfather passed away, I was excited to leave and go abroad, and I still do that. But now I do it more consciously — I need to spare time for my family.”

Published on April 28, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Gigi: gantonel@syr.edu