Top Why I Love Where I Live

Home is where the heart is, and our SixContest reveals that everyone’s heart is in a different place. Some prefer the land (“The mountains are in my DNA”– Danes100), while others like the sea (“Salty sand walks, Symphonic crashing waves.” –BossLady307). Some love the familiarity (“Quiet town, familiar faces, first love.” – All_Hail_the_EB_Noot), but some want a little more excitement (“Tourist town: Everyday’s a pretend vacation.” –ShellDeFelice). But we can all agree on the most important thing: indoor plumbing (“Permanent festival grounds with real bathrooms!“- FavePeep).

Here are our favorites:

6. “No one knows where Nanticoke is.” –AlyssaW

5. “Fog, flowers, fire. Still I stay.” –ZsuZsu

4. “House key unnecessary. Door’s always open.” —DynamicDbytheC

3. “Homegrown, homespun, homemade, homework, all home.” – @hikealot2014

2. “The scenery changes, but “home” doesn’t.“-CatsMeow

And the winner of a Six-Word Memoirs keychain is…

1. “One island,
Many faces,
All aloha.” – Andagi808

And our bonus round of backstory and photo winners…

We would also like to congratulate Neesha101 for writing our favorite backstory for her memoir “There’s always space in my hometown.”

TagishCharley inspired this month’s contest by suggesting that we take a month to celebrate where we live. So we’ve asked him to pick his top six images and say a little bit about why he chose them. Here are his top six.

#6: Hermien: “Love it cause I am here.”

The expanse of sky with the hopeful warmth of the sun illuminating the clouds nicely sets the scene to beautifully illustrate the accompanying memoir. The juxtaposition of the breakwater on the left with what appears to be a person looking out to sea which says “I am here” with the sandbar on the right is a nice framing technique. The muted overall tones add to a more serene feeling in this photo.

#5:favepeep: “Danes have hygge. Wisconsinites have Gemütlichkeit.”

The backstory talks about the “warmth and good cheer found here in abundance,” and I love this image because it nicely captures the essence of that sentiment with a focus on people that makes this a special place to live. It’s also fun and lighthearted.

#4: J3nny: “Where life’s necessities converge bestowing serenity.”

I love the play of light in this image with sparkle of sun on water juxtaposed against the inky blackness of the coastal cliffs. It is both rugged and calming. The light and structure play well together.

#3: Otiscolake: “Pareidolia: Something from nothing out window.”

While other similar images having appeared on SWM posts over the years, this one has a special quality in the richness of the texture and colour of the landscape and the positioning of the imagery. It just says: “Ahhh, it’s time to relax and live in the moment.” Beautiful image, well captured.

#2: DynamicDbytheC: “House key Uunecessary. Door’s always open.”

This is an image that captures the imagination in an idyllic setting that soothe the soul of the viewer. The quality of the light casts a warm glow over the buildings and landscape. The trees beautifully frame the image and the fluttering flags tell a story of place. A wonderful visual compliment to this Six-Word Memoir.

#1: Scribbling Scribe: “Divine masterpieces paint desert’s big sky.”

This photo has an ethereal beauty to it. I love the artistic composition of the rainbow’s arc punctuated by the strong, vertical lines of cacti jutting into the “big sky.” The underline of the white line against black pavement of the road is a delightful accent to the overall piece. Utilization of the blur effect focuses the eye on the central composition. Nicely done!