For SixContest #111, we asked you to share your survival stories. Your shared playful stories about surviving early hours (“Coffee saves me every single morning”-@hikealot2014 ) and relieving stress (“Drowning troubles in bath of bubbles”–canadagoose). You poured out your hearts with memories about becoming a mother (“Painful swollen arms cradled her newborn”- @salmeen_h) and losing a son (“My son died, still I breathe.” –Poozie). Sixers danced (“Releasing endorphins through bottled dance moves”– Arod) and flew (“Packed my own parachute. Ripcord worked.”- TagishCharley), emphasized the stress of everyday life (“Overloaded but haven’t short circuited…yet” –DynamicDBytheC) and the power of endurance (“Fell nine times; got up ten” – mcavanagh). In the end, perhaps the reason we tell stories is to make getting through life just a little bit easier, as Kharis reminds us with her six-word wisdom: “Looked for words that inspired hope.”

We hope the words from our Top 6 favorite Six-Word Survival Stories inspire you:

6. “I threw away the suicide note.” – WriteOrDieGirl

5.“ My survival kit filled with poetry.” –CindyT

4. “Hitchhiked barefoot 1,000 miles. Soul soles.” –BentGuy

3. “Survived Rocky Road. Now eating it.” –JL333

2. “The Instead Box was for tears” – ChampagneAmongTheStars

And the winner is…

1.  “Sometimes survival becomes a personality trait.”-BeyondHamilton