Combining several ideas for a custom tat

Hi, I need some ideas for a custom tattoo. I recently went through a situation where people made me question some fundamental aspects of myself. Now that I've come out on the other side, I'd like to get a tattoo to remind me of who I am and where I've come from. I want something to remind me never to let people shake my sense of identity that much again (but not a phoenix). I also want to memorialize someone I lost along the way who was very important in my situation. That's a lot of ideas, I realize, but the design doesn't have to be complex. I'm open to simple stuff or more complicated stuff. I just wondered if you guys have some ideas on designing a tat tying a lot of that stuff together. Thanks.