The reasons people choose to get tattoos are both wide and varied. While some are just for fun and others are purely for body aesthetic, a growing number of them are meant to represent something special in a person’s life.

Whether it’s a tattoo of a face or a paw print, or some scene representing a memory long gone but not forgotten, tattoos are a great way to symbolize something that has meaning in ones life.

Thankfully, thousands of people are willing to share the details behind their tattoo choices and the stories that they tell. Here are 47 of the best of them.