Brief Reflections

Regarding a February 2008 segment they were doing on the book Not Quite What I Was Planning, a collection of six-word memoirs by famous and not-so-famous writers, artists and musicians, the website for NPR's program Talk of the Nation wrote the following:

Once asked to write a full story in six words, legend has it that novelist Ernest Hemingway responded: "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn."

In this spirit of simple yet profound brevity, the online magazine Smith asked readers to write the story of their own lives in a single sentence. (...) Their stories are sometimes sad, often funny — and always concise.

Inspired by this concept, some members of the Loyola University Chicago Alternative Break Immersion delegation to Guatemala wrote a few of their own six-word memoirs regarding their time in Guatemala and what they learned, felt, saw, and experienced. 

 

  • Peace must emanate from within everyone.
  • Open ears, open eyes, open hearts
  • Political boundaries disappear. All are one.
  • No mas, no more. It's time.
  • Break the chains of opression. Live.
  • I am the earth. It's me.
  • We live together. We exist together.
  • Big smiles make trees grow tall.




  • Volcanoes untouched by our feet. Bummer.
  • Plant a tree. Make trade fair.
  • Coffee tastes better grown by you.
  • Will the mountains learn to speak?
  • Prosecute criminals. Take responsibility. Make peace.
  • End the war against the poor.