Top 6 “Swimming in Sixes”: Our head is above water and, finally, here are our picks!
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Six-Word Search Tag

[caption id="attachment_9663" align="alignleft" width="270"]50shades rose "Fifty shades of queer and fabulous” -daQueenZachary[/caption]

It wasn't long before sexy sixes came flooding in over the past few weeks due to the release of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. Sixers used the now-iconic title to inspire personal stories, commentaries on the book and film, and the expected racy puns from this crowd.  So while Fifty Shades won't be winning any Oscars this year, with the Academy Awards upon us, we've been seeing some pretty whip-smart tie-ins.

Here we highlight just a few of the best "fifty shades" response Sixes, with a few good photos and Backstories thrown in the mix. Feel free to jump into the conversation with your own Fifty Shades Sixes.

"Six words—fifty shades of say."

-jaceylane

"Damn! Only 49 shades of gray."

-Jugggler

"Fifty shades gets a hard R."

-notjustagirlintheworld

bsboxtitle"I heard a movie reviewer use this term to describe the not- so-soft porn movie based on the runaway bestselling 'novel'—and I use that term loosely—come movie. (pun intended.) I will say this for the PR machine behind the movie, the timing of release could not be better. Fifty Shades of Grey is as crassly commercial as the Hallmark holiday they have chosen for it's debut."

"She's watching 50 Shades. Getting ideas."

-Steve_Anthony

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="286"] flickr.com/photos/kendo26/[/caption] Christmas is nearly upon us! The spirit of the season is alive and well here at Six Words—assuming your idea of Christmas includes not only love, generosity, and kindness to strangers, but also shopping anxiety, inter-faith celebration, and some complicated relationships with Santa Claus. A Merry Christmas to all our loyal Six Worders. Enjoy the holidays and have fun!   Here are some of our favorite Christmas-themed Six-Word memoirs:  

Jesus and I share a birthday! -theatregirl2513

There goes Santa. Where’s my car???? -thepoet1

learn The Six-Word Memoir community is filled with lifelong learners. For many, summer is a time to take a break from education; for others, it’s a time of discovery. Your memoirs discuss things you want to learn, have learned, or wish others would learn. Your words are wishful, wistful, and downright skillful. Learn more about your fellow Sixers and their lessons learned year-round:

Teaching summer school; learning from students.

-- FinchGirl

A learning disability? A teaching disability.

-- ibotero

Life provides mountains. Learn to climb.

-- aussiegirl625

Learned to throw knives, parties, hissyfits.

-- M.Law

Reserved. Not shy. Learn the difference.

-- jk72724

For some graduates, leaving the familiar world of their high school or college and transitioning into what is often described as the “real world” is purely exciting, a simultaneous beginning and ending that offers a host of new opportunities, all built on the solid foundation from which they are graduating. For others, however, graduation can be a time of trepidation as they leave the comforting niche of higher ed. Graduation can be a painful farewell for those who aren’t ready to leave, or for those who are left behind.

This famous rite of passage, in all its emotional complexity, is captured in your Six-Word Memoirs. You told us about your pride at earning your diploma, the struggles and doubts you faced along the way, and even about your own surprise when you actually succeeded. Parents and grandparents lauded their loved ones’ achievements and told us how much their graduates would be missed. Fears were confessed, dreams described, childhoods mourned, and metaphorical caps tossed, all in six-word packages.

Here we have compiled just a few of the vast collection of your thoughts on graduation. For more, visit the featured memoirs page or, to see several illustrated memoirs on gradation, the Six-Word Memoir Tumblr.

Shackled 'til graduation. Free 'til death.

-  jman94xx

My graduation present... was my daughter.

browneyedangel86

Graduation near. Not finding work feared.

ASUGIRL

Outdoor graduation: audience applauded, thunder clapped.

Contemplative

Graduation day. Goodbye, my babies.

Sabel

Graduation party tomorrow, then real life.

moeann

Student requested my presence at graduation.

With the arrival of summer, vacation begins for students. But for non-students, summer doesn’t always mean vacation. While students sleep in, and the boredom begins, working professionals yearn for a vacation, or at least a break from constant working and wakefulness. Whether we like it or not, some things take vacations even when we don’t: from creativity to softball skills to God, these things take off without our permission. So don’t ask anyone for permission to take a vacation. Your office can be a vacation from home, and home a vacation from the office. The park becomes the beach on the weekend, your own backyard a foreign country. These SMITH users understand that vacationing from the idea of an ideal vacation can be it’s own sort of get-away. So take a vacation from what you're supposed to be doing now, and read on below for more vacation ideas:

Slept in. Vacation has officially started.

Piggirlrocks

Snow shovel's eight month vacation begins.

whelp

And boredom commences with summer vacation.

ErikaStellar

Summer vacation hides the clocks& calendars.

TheAngstyPoet

With Father's Day approaching, many of us at SMITH Magazine are struggling to get our gift ideas together in time for the holiday. Dads aren't always the easiest people to shop for. They can be stern or goofy, close or distant, helpful or harmful; the variations are endless, and no two relationships with a father are quite the same. Still, whether we love him, hate him or are just starting to get to know him, we all owe half of our genetic material to someone somewhere, and every third Sunday in June, we are reminded of that fact. Here's what you Sixers had to say about Dad. Click on each writer's screen name for more memoirs. Fathers are plentiful. Dads are rare. -RayRichmond Duct tape was his tool chest. -Sarmors Dad's just jealous of my style. -Apollo Dad wants to be the hero. -Waiting4Someday My mom is a good dad. -montsse