You in Six Words

My O* Magazine this month had a section called "You in Six Words."  You may have heard of this mini-biography trend that's been going on. According to the article I read, it started in 2006, when Larry Smith, a magazine writer inspired by Ernest Hemingway, challenged his readers to write their own biographies in six words.

He got so many responses that he has a published a book with his results.

As a word person and a blogger (the latter meaning I'm naturally predisposed to self promotion/exploration), I was intrigued by the idea and started wondering what I would write as my "Six Word Memoir." When you only have six words, you have to choose them carefully, but I also think it's important to go with your gut reactions to this.

At first I thought mine would have to deal with weight loss. Something like:
Lost. Found. Trying to lose again.
But does that serve as a memoir  for my whole life? or just the last two years?

So I tried again with:
Mediocre at most. Great at laughing.

Now I'm not sure that the point is to write more than one six word biography or to pontificate on them when you do, but this is my blog and I'll do what I like here.  To explain: I've tried my hand at a number of things over the years (piano, dancing, saxophone, singing, cooking, running, etc), and I've never really excelled at any of it.  But I am really great at laughing and helping others laugh too.  So I guess what I'm trying to capture in my memoir, is that while I may not be a stand out in many areas, I'm glad to be good at something important in life.

Here are some pictures from the magazine spread so you can see what Oprah's readers sent in (you can also see them more in the link above).  Click on the pictures to make them bigger.  Then (and here's the interactive part), submit your six word biography in the comments section.  I'd love to read your six-word memoirs!

*O stands for Oprah.