A Toast for All
Ending 2022 with wishes, in six words and more, for a storied new year
Six Word Wishes: Ending the Horror of the Neverending Toast
My son recently asked me what Six-Word Memoir book readers like best. I thought about it for a hot six seconds and told him I think it’s The Best Advice in Six Words. I think it’s because it’s a fun — even useful — gift, especially for someone going through a big transition: advice for a new parent, advice for a recent grad, advice for a couple getting ready to take the marital plunge.
I’ve gone to a lot of weddings and during many of the receptions, I’ve been asked to lead guests in a rapid-fire “Six Word Advice” slam. They’re always a blast. Why? the beauty is in the simplicity. We can’t all make a good toast (and many of us don’t want to) but everyone sounds like a philosopher in six words. And, a Six Word slam also serves as a preemptive strike before your drunk uncle starts rambling.
Now, my team at Six Word and I have created a way for everyone to host a kind of slam without us! We call it Six Word Wishes.
Here’s how to give all your guests a chance to toast you, and give you a way to save all the wonderful six word advice and wishes that your friends and family share:
Using our web-based app, invite your guests to share their six word wishes and advice for the couple before and during the wedding. Guests can see what others have written which builds a lovely sort of buzz and excitement before for your big day.
Then, we create a beautiful book featuring the collected six word wishes. It’s like a guestbook that you’ll actually want to look at years after the wedding.
If you or someone you know is getting married in the coming months, get in touch — we’re looking for a a few more beta users to use the app, and as a thank you, we’ll make you the book for free.
Illustrate It in Six!
As we say goodbye to 2022, let’s take a pause to ponder the ways this past year has changed us for the better. In other words: Was it all bad? Maybe not. These illustrated Six-Word Memoirs, mostly by students, offer resilience, hope, and the power of change.
What sort of changes will you bring into the new year?
Illustrated memoirs are a beautiful and imaginative way to view Six-Word Memoirs — and we’re always looking for more submissions. Don’t forget to tell the artists, students, and teachers in your life how to submit their art to the website. And check out our gallery of illustrations.
Plus: Shout out to art professor John Ferry!
Kansas City Art Institute professor John Ferry has been teaching illustrated Six-Word Memoirs in his “Image and Form” class since 2016. Now, Ferry’s own illustrated Six-Word Memoir, featured in A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year: Hundreds of Stories on the Pandemic, has been selected as winner in these three juried shows/publications: American Illustration #41, 3X3 Illustration #19, and Society Of Illustrators #64. Huge props to the prof and his incredible work, seen here.
Classroom of the Month: “Little” Achievements at Libra Academy
For Aanya Ismail, a ninth grade teacher at Libra Academy in Huntington Park, California, Six-Word Memoirs has been a way to give her writing exercises a fresh take. She introduced her class to the six word format with casual journal prompts such as, “What event in your life got you to where you are now?” and gradually opened things up with themes like family, life, and overcoming challenges. She now showcases her students’ memoirs in butterfly cutouts that adorn the classroom walls, including one that reads, “Facing my fears by confronting them.”
Read more about Ismail and her students’ journey of self-discovery on our Six in Schools blog, and see how teachers across the world are using the form to instruct and engage their students.
Short Cuts: Six-Word Reviews
From Substack: Adrian Mastroianni invites readers to follow his findings as an experimental psychologist in the biweekly newsletter Experimental History, offering perspectives on human behavior and conflict through short historical anecdotes. Mastroianni’s relaxed tone guides subscribers through topics such as the difficulties of finding inspiration, domineering pop culture, and the overlap between intelligence and happiness. Mastroianni also adds a personal flair to his posts by including his father's black-and-white photographs from his time as a photographer in rural northern Ohio. Through familiar and thoughtful discussions, Experimental History explores the fascinating psychology behind modern conflicts.
Six-Word Memoir's Danielle Shum's Review: "Ask all your questions. History answers."
From the World: What can everyone agree on as we head into 2023? Not much except music and Dolly. The unstoppable Dolly Parton is the executive producer of the Netflix scripted series aptly titled Heartstrings. Each one of the eight episodes tells stories that were inspired by her songs, ranging from estranged families (“If I Had Wings”), coming out of the closet (“Two Doors Down”), and the treacherous shoals of marriage (“Jolene”).
Six-Word Memoirs' Dewansh Chauhan's Six-Word Review: “Composed by few, felt by all.”
New Year’s Resolution. I quit quitting.