This month we asked you to share your life in its many stages through its ages. Some shared some of their earliest memories (“6:My first girlfriend totaled my tricycle” –BanjoDan). Others shared stories of finding an escape (“11: Awake and anxiously awaiting Hogwarts letter“-hannahlaubach), finding love (“22:Married. Moved. Pregnant. Wife. Canadian. Mother”-canadafreeze), and finding themselves (“25: I think I finally found myself” – bmhopkins1992). Many of you shared stories of professional lives ( “50s: Career goals won, loved ones lost“-BigMammaPetunia) and the return to the personal (“70: Made it to retirement. Now what?”–prairiedog). Everyone’s life is different, but we do know that you have all shared DynamicDbytheC‘s experience at some point: “53:Found Smithmag. Brevity, Brilliance and Bonding.”

6. “3: Mistaken turd. Dad flushed our pet.” – Oh_Skinny

5. “42: dreams are as strong as ever” – @kim_ann1

4. “65: curmudgeon: a comfortable thing to be” –CapeCodder

3. “19: The dance floor knows my name.” –Maeva

2. “42: Maturity creeps up on soft paws.” – LadyMac

And the winner is…

1. “Teenager—medicated; 20’s—meditated; 30’s—parented; 40’s—work-related; 50’s—mid-century-fated; 60’s—re-invented.” –zsuzsu

Our favorite backstory this month was Oh_Skinny’s story behind these six words: “17: My small town lost its youth.”