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If you only had six words in which to write your story, what would you say? That’s the question SMITH Magazine asked when they began their six-word memoir project three years ago. SMITH, which focuses on the art of personal narrative, was created to celebrate storytelling.

“We believe everyone has a story, and everyone should have a place to tell it,” they say in their mission statement.

Telling stories is an integral part of our culture, and with the advent of the internet, there are more mediums through which to tell stories than ever before.

We asked the students of TWU to tell us their stories – in 100 words or less – for this issue. You can see the results in the Spotlight section. The word limit was more than a space issue; it was an exercise in essence. What’s your story, at its most basic level? Who are you in just a few words?

Of course an entire life cannot be captured in such a small space. But it’s the pieces of lives we put together – every six-word memoir, every 100-word story – that makes up who we are as individuals, and who we are as community.

If you asked me in my freshman year how the story of my TWU career would turn out, I would have never predicted it would take place learning how to tell stories – in writing classes, working with the News section and hanging out in of a stuffy, little office in Douglas. This experience has taught me how to view the world in terms of the stories that are constantly taking place, waiting to be immortalized in the printed word.

In one month, I’ll graduate, continuing my own story in the real world, adding my experiences to the stories already taking place around me.

The purpose of Mars’ Hill is to tell the story of Trinity Western University. We started this year with the goal of reconnecting the various facets of campus to each other, and I hope in some way we’ve done that. Whether you’ve dealt with some of the issues covered by our opinion writers, been affected by a story in the News section or were interviewed for the ticker, I hope you’ve enjoyed being part of what Mars’ Hill does.

Thanks to everyone who contributed their time and talents to putting Mars’ Hill together, who make the news we cover happen and who always pick up the new issue. Basically, thanks to everyone who, over my past four years on Mars’ Hill, have made the paper’s six-word memoir true-to-life, keeping us “For the students, by the students.”

As it’s said in yearbooks, have a great summer!