So, what's your story?

To quote Larry Smith, founder of SMITH Magazine, brain-child of the enormously popular Six Word Memoir series, and editor/author of The Moment: Wild, Poignant, Life-Changing Stories from 125 Writers and Artists Famous & Obscure:Seems a simple enough question. We're all a product of personal circumstance. And no matter how different we are - our common denominator is that we are all here to share our story.Mortified? That's cool. No one's forcing anyone to stand up in front of the class. In fact, you don't even need to be on campus. But just the knowledge that you aren't alone - that someone else can relate - is worth a second thought.As I continue to work on my own personal story (you can read a chapter "Sunset Strip" in Larry's book The Moment), I'm constantly reminding myself who I am. It's easy to get lost in the day-to-day juggling act with where we are now, (kids, school, work, family...), the very fabric which made us the kick-ass people we are today ends up tattered through time.Remember that time you lost your shit, and didn't think you would survive a life without that girl or guy?How about when you learned about that horrifying accident which caused so many tears?Then there's that one boss or teacher who blindsided you, leaving your self-confidence in a million pieces of self-doubt, shattered on floor.Well look who's surviving, learning and looking better than ever in a custom Self Confidence Suit constructed from that priceless spool of fabric, Failure (I may or may not be in the midst of a Project Runway marathon).Don't be afraid to revisit your truth. You've earned it. Even if you've tried to forget, shoved it under the rug - it finds you. Best to own it, and embrace even the ugliest corners of your past.Remembering the darkness brings so much more to the light. For no other reason, than to remind yourself how far you've come - what your soul is capable of surviving. Truth matters. Even if you're living a lie. Your insides know. Your bones, the space between the beating of your heart. It lives in truth. And if, for whatever reason you aren't living in yours, it saves you a seat at the table.

“This is how you survive the unsurvivable, this is how you lose that which you cannot bear to lose, this is how you reinvent yourself, overcome your abusers, fulfill your ambitions and meet the love of your life: by following what is true, no matter where it leads you.”  - Augusten Burroughs, This is How

Here's the part where you tell me: What's your story? As always, anonymous comments welcome.