Found My Dream Job, Now What?

That was six words.

How would you tell your life story in six words? That's what SMITH Magazine is all about. Well, they're all about storytelling, and using new social media to do it. The six words idea came from a "legend" that Hemingway was challenged to tell a story in only six words. He wrote, "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn." A couple years ago, the two guys behind SMITH put the same challenge to the people via Twitter. The overwhelming response was published in early 2008. I came across the book in a small bookstore in Astoria; why I didn't buy it, since I couldn't put it down, I don't know. But an article about their most recent book, focusing specifically on love & heartbreak, brought me back.

So, what would your six-word memoir be? My problem is that I can't settle on just one. Here are two, in case you're wondering:

People-pleaser, finally making herself happy. • Leaving life of leisure for NYC.

And a third, the title above. I find almost nothing as fascinating as people's stories (yes, I'm voyeuristic that way) – especially told through their own words. I know the MySpace/Facebook world we now live in, which has pretty much decimated privacy, can get tiresome, putting every life on display. But that's why SMITH's curated collections are so important. And the six words leave you wondering, filling in the gaps, imagining the history, the future. Obviously, I would so love to work there. Maybe a special PONY category?