The Six Word Memoir

According to literary legend, Ernest Hemingway was once given the challenge to write a whole story in six words. His response? For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

The six-word format has taken on new life in the past few years. In 2006, Smith magazine, an online publication, posed the challenge to their readers: how would you sum up your life in six words? The response was so overwhelming that the magazine editors compiled a book of the best responses:Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure.

I recently posed this same challenge to all the high school students. Each student was to write a six word memoir and decorate a blank piece of paper to illustrate their words. The 11th graders, who were wrapping up a Hemingway study, were put in charge of compiling all the responses into a book for the school (appropriately enough, there are six of them).

Here are a few of my favorite responses:

I dried my tears and smiled.

Don't make sense, just be sensational!

Can I draw a picture instead?

What are we supposed to do? (you have to know the student.)

I gained everything by surrendering everything.

Find yourself once, then life changes.

Naturally, I went with something music related for mine (searching for the appropriate song lyric). Never thought I'd end up here was a close second.

What are your six words?