When South Texas English teachers Adriana Castillo Solis and Stephanie Sauceda heard about Six-Word Memoirs, they immediately thought of their students. Nine classes at Pharr San Juan Alamo North High School studied the book, wrote their own memoirs, and created accompanying painting, photos, or collages.

Adriana writes “Initially, our project seemed like just a fun thing to do but it ended up being something with tremendous power that had a great impact on many of the students and parents. We literally had some students cry when they were working on their project. It was a powerful experience for them to go through and for us as their teachers to witness.”

The teachers then organized a gallery show and invited family and friends to see the art, commemorating the success of the event with a t-shirt adorned with all the memoirs.

Below, see the shirt and a small selection of the students’ work:

“Shattered, mended restored; rewind, press play.” -Krystal Ramirez, 11th Grade
“Name David, but feel like Goliath” -David Serna, 10th Grade
“I strongly believe in my dreams.” -Jennifer Guerrero, 11th Grade
“I’m a genius with a headache.” -Atalie Gonzalez, 10th Grade
“Millions of emotions – not enough space…” -Olivia Losoya, 11th Grade
“Living life hidden prevents being judged.” -Theresa Corona, 11th Grade
“I’m not crazy, just special.” -Joshua Covarrubias, 11th Grade