Photography, December is Freestyle | Mary’s Month

“It’s Freestyle!” Six Words & a Photo: December Conclusion

SWPSC: Freestyle Stories — “December Freestyle” Conclusion

Hibernating. Winter break. Back in 2023.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to SWPSC this year. It’s been a fabulous year working as the creator and editor of this pub along with my wonderful co-editors who joined me this spring. Your stories have brought us joy, and laughter, made us reflect, or resonated with us in some way.

Now, sometimes Medium can suck up my time, attention, and energy, and when December arrives— (yikes, it came quick!) I need a mental break from the pub. I’ll be in hibernation mode from Medium for a while. I’ll be focusing on self-care, family time, and snow play. Happy holidays, enjoy December, and see you in the New Year! Please keep reading until the end — “December Freestyle” picks are below, followed by an editorial announcement and three reminders!

“December Freestyle” Conclusion, led by me, Mary Chang

Gratitude to Sandi Parsons and Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, for their ongoing efforts in handling submissions this month. Special shout out to Sandi for her “Three Rings to Say Goodbye” story — yes, ring that damn bell! My heart celebrates with you in finishing your radiation treatment. And to Vidya for her “Sweet Sparrow” story — I love a good bird story. I appreciate you both so much!

Mary’s Picks for “December Freestyle”

Thank you to all the contributing writers this month for sharing your “freestyle” stories. Because the submissions were only open for sixteen days, I decided to make all the picks. I also want to wrap up this month ASAP so I can take my break!

For the “Freestyle” category, check out the latest stories under the “Freestyle” tab. For all freestyle stories, check out this tab.

Here are 5 “December Freestyle” stories that wowed for different reasons — out of the 45+ freestyle submissions to this publication between December 1–16, 2022.

Note: The picks I made were certainly not “sunshine and rainbows,” but rather invited me to the darker side of life, which evoked different emotions within me. It wasn’t my intention to “go dark” for December (or maybe it was subconsciously — I’m feeling a little down these days), but these are the stories that stood out to me.

Paul Gardner, I appreciate the vulnerability of your story, making a beautiful, stark comparison between bare tree limbs and bare bodies. Yes, be proud of our aging limbs; they’re the only ones we have for this lifetime. Keep rocking the kettle ball workouts at age 73 — wow! I’m constantly awed by those older than I, who continue to move their bodies. It inspires me to stay active well into future decades.

Emma Tiger Lee, when I was a kid, I wondered why Barbie dolls had no nipples, and when I got older, I wondered whether Barbie figures were good role models for children. Your story made me question the impact of the toy industry and the definitions of beauty, but it also reminded me to be compassionate.

Rodrigo S-C, I was awed by the sadness, honesty, and raw vulnerability behind your story. We often imagine that we “should feel this way or that way” about death or other uncomfortable situations — and sometimes we pretend to. Your story reminds me that it’s okay to be honest with my emotions, even if people might question or doubt them. My emotions belong to only me — and I need to give myself permission to own them. The dead flowers speak the truth and resonate well with your story.

arun, speaking of vulnerability, when I saw the deer antlers, I didn’t know that deer (and other animals with antlers) shed their antlers every year. I assumed they had the same antlers for life. And yes, how vulnerable and defenseless would a deer be without them? Thank you for this quote below in your story — it serves as a good self-reminder as to how vulnerability relates to humans.

“Being vulnerable means stopping worrying about how others are going to judge your life and doing what gives you meaning and happiness.”

Charlie Cole, Your wondrous photo with sunlight, blue, and bubbles connected my soul right away — it’s both vivid and mysterious. I can close my eyes and imagine floating in the water just like the person in the image. Over the last two years, I became obsessed with open-water swimming. Learning to swim in the sea helped me overcome my fear of drowning. Being in or near oceans, lakes, and rivers gives me much joy.

Your story spoke to me — it was truly a gift. Six words that conveyed darkness, power, and freedom, plus one vibrant photo — sometimes that’s all it takes. Thank you, Charlie.

Note: This article officially ends the “December Freestyle” month, and no further submissions will be accepted today. Thank you to all the writers for submitting this year. I enjoyed your photography, stories, and individual perspectives — please keep writing!

Announcement: Thank you, Ellie Jacobson

As of December 2022, our co-editor, Ellie Jacobson, decided to step away as an editor for SWPSC. However, she’ll continue to be a writer for this pub. Sandi Parsons, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, and I will miss Ellie’s kind heart, energy, and contributions.

I’m grateful to Ellie for the constant support that she has given the publication, as well as to many other pubs on Medium. We thank and appreciate Ellie for her assistance with handling submissions since she joined the pub this spring, we wish her the best, and we look forward to reading her stories in the new year. You can still find Ellie’s stories here at our pub, but you can also find her stories via her Flint & Steel publication and her profile page.

REMINDERS:

1. This publication will be closed from Saturday, December 17, 2022, until Monday, January 2, 2023, Pacific Standard Time. We will NOT accept any submissions or new writers during this time. Please do not send submissions during this period.
2. We will reopen for all submissions and welcome new writers on Tuesday, January 3, 2023.
3. The 2023 January Six Word Photo Story Challenge will be published on Tuesday, January 3, 2023! Get those cameras clicking, or dig into your photo archives! If you’ve read this far — here’s a hint for January, which will be led by Sandi Parsons— it’s all about where you live!

If you’d like to be added as a writer and submit to Six Word Photo Story Challenge, please read and follow the submission guidelines.

Sometimes you need a different perspective to see things in a new way. That’s the concept of Six Word Photo Story Challenge. Can you tell a story in six words inspired by a photo taken by yourself? Backstory, optional.

— Village hugs & happy holidays from the editorial team threesome — Sandi Parsons, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, and Mary Chang Story Writer — Creator & Editor of SWPSC. Please follow us to stay connected to our Monthly Challenges and check out our bios!

Tagging regular writers or anyone who submitted stories (not already mentioned above) to say THANK YOU for your submissions since we launched this publication on Sept 1, 2021 and to wish you happy holidays! Sincere apologies if I missed any names! It’s quite a task to tag all writers, as Medium doesn’t provide an easy way to do this. Let me know if I missed anyone!

Hollie Petit, Ph.D., keith kennedy, pockett dessert, B.R. Shenoy, Penny Grubb, R. du Plessis, Will Hull, Susan Foster, Bingz Huang, Rusty Alderson, K. Barrett, Kim Zuch, Juanita Nieuwoudt, Betsy Denson, Karen Schwartz, Ching Ching, Kris Bedenian, Rosalind Pagan, Susan Alison, Valerie Delzer, Amethyst Qu, Rubaiyat Rahman, Denise Darby, Tooth Truth Roopa Vikesh, Divina Grey, Michael Burg, MD (Satire Sommelier), Stephanie Gruner Buckley, Jaylee Reign, Barb Dalton, Napoleon, Kim McKinney, Christina, Diana Lotti, Ronald C. Flores-Gunkle, Stephen Reed, Kathryn A. LeRoy, frnkflwrs, Gauri Sirur, Bicho Do Mato, Dunelair, Chrissy Chequer, Krystal, Gustavo Mendez, Laura Belle, Marie Jones, Trista Signe Ainsworth, Olive Wilson, Kelly Eden, Brooke Kochel RN, Linda Acaster, Stuart Aken, Eira Braun-Labossiere 🌻, Uchechi Ihebom, L Burton, Daniel J Klein, John Dean, Sara Wade Gray, Catherine Dunn, Leese Wright, Rod Baker, Nbowditch, Nicole Anders, Raine Lore, ASGARALY LOULOUA, Patricia Haddock, David Acaster, Dr. Gabriella Korosi, James Jordan, Wendy Snyder, JoAnn Ryan, Rachella Angel Page, A. Grace, Umme Salma, Sally Prag, Randy Runtsch, Shereen Bingham, Wendy Scott, nareeta martin, Tara Desai PhD, Aimée Gramblin, Franzi Kinzel, Amy Rosie, Sanghita Pal, Osan Fernando, Warren Turner, Robin James, A. Alexander (Alex), Michelle March, Lwazi, CARMEN F MICSA, MA in English, podcaster, Rodrigo S-C, Laura Lind, Jay Krasnow, Kaori Mitsui, Lisa McAully, Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages, Nishan Fuard, Vishal Mehta, Aussie Blogging, Erika Burkhalter, Amanda Jean, Bryan Dijkhuizen, Stacy Johnson, Kim Baker, Kasturi Patra, Walkey walkey, Que Sarah Sarah 🌴, Kris Cochran, Judy Walker, Rhonda Carrier, Sheri Jacobs, Indra Raj Pathak, Toni Hayes, Olga Iudina, Mary Ingram, Tabula Rasa, Krasi Shapkarova, Stephanie Hilborn, Nancy Blackman, MASF, Britta Ollrogge, MBA, Cindy S. Yantis, Reginald Ben-Halliday, Mia Verita, Michael Shook, Motaz Mohamed, P. L. Goaway, Bearded Anon, Malini, NancyO, K. Joseph, Tim Reed, Pulpo Viejo, Anne Bonfert, Dennett, Maria Rattray, Dr. Preeti Singh, and Toni Greathouse.

And thank you to David Perlmutter, an avid reader, clapper and highlighter for the stories at Six Word Photo Story Challenge. I’m still waiting on a story from you, David:)

About the writer

Mary Chang is the editor of the Six Word Photo Story Challenge publication. She’s also a writer, parent, and fitness enthusiast and loves creating monthly challenges. Her self-mantra is “Try, Mary, Try!” and she believes that if she can do it — it may inspire others to try too.