At this very moment while writing this, I have lived exactly 6,633 days. Now, a majority of you have lived a lot more days than I have, and some of you have lived fewer than me. So, imagine summing up all the days you have lived into a short six words. It seems like a difficult task at first, but after putting in thought, it becomes easier. You start to focus on the big parts in your life and what makes you, you.
One day I was sitting in class my junior year and I picked up this book called “Not Quite What I Was Planning.” So, I picked it up and started reading. Mind you, I didn’t even know what a memoir was or a six word one for that matter. The whole book was just these random people’s stories in a short, six words. The next year I was asked to come up with my own as an assignment and about a hundred different ones ran through my mind. Some were funny, others more serious, but one of my favorite ones was “Road is narrow, but view’s beautiful.” Which, to me, means my journey is worth my destination.
So I asked myself, what do different stories look like that have the same destination? There are all these different people from different states and even countries who are going to the same place I am. I scrambled this past week to get six word memoirs from incoming freshman at The University of Redlands and had them tell their story. Here are a few:
“The divorce does not define me.”
-Victoria
“Work to manage pain using dreams.”
-Bertin
“Got class cancelled for liberal topics.”
-Thomas
“Here I am; an “adult” now”
-Savanna
“I love knowledge, knowledge loves me.”
-Peter
“California will always be my home.”
-Caroline
“I found myself in some literature.”
-Maria
“The extraordinary will never be enough.”
-Connor
“It went faster than I thought”
-Michael
“Untouched pasts dictate none of future.”
-Cooper
“Awesome people, mainly the bulldog.”
-Bailey
“Soaked in water smiling to herself.”
-Hiba
“New state, new school, same me.”
-Sharon
“Searching for food, I found happiness.”
-Julio
“Damn! I should’ve been a striper.”
-Zayra
“Think passion makes life more fun?!”
-Jean
“Sexy outfit? Finally outta the closet.”
-Komz
“It will happen if you start.”
-Cheyenne
“My passion is for the people.”
-Lehua
“Didn’t realize how much tuition is.”
-Phillip
“We can absolutely make it work.”
-Allison
“Can’t wait for this next adventure.”
-Sarah
I don’t know exactly why these memoirs always fascinate me. I guess it’s just because with each word you get a little piece of a person and what their life is like; what brought them where they are now. Even though all of these six words memoirs differ so much they will all have the same path to Redlands. Whether your path be long and narrow or short and wide never let your past dictate your future.
