Before Graduation: Write to Yourself a Few Years Out
The last days of school are packed with ceremony: the thesis defense, the class photo, the farewell dinner, the empty dorm room. Then the noise fades, and it hits you — some things never got said, and some feelings will be gone if you don't write them down now. Every June, graduates come here to write: to themselves three years out, asking whether the job turned out anything like the dream; to the roommates they lived with for four years, with a pact to open the letters together in five; or simply to seal up "how it feels to stand at the school gate right now" and mail it to their thirty-year-old self. Letters written at graduation have a rare kind of honesty — life hasn't taught you to hedge yet, so you say what you mean. Below are letters graduates chose to share. If you're counting down your last days on campus, don't just take photos. Spend twenty minutes writing this summer down; the future you will be glad you did.
Ideas to get you started
- Record a few specific "last times": the last lecture, the last cafeteria meal, the last late-night talk before lights-out. Details hold their value better than feelings do.
- Write down where you're headed and what worries you: which offer you signed, which city, what keeps you up at night. Years later, this is the part you'll compare notes with.
- Write one to a roommate or classmate too — add their email or phone number and pick a date to open them together.
- Ask your future self the hard ones: are you still in touch with these people? Any regrets about the path you picked?
Real letters from the vault
250 public letters写给刚毕业的你
你好，我的可爱。放假四五天了吧。你现在已经在浙江了是吗。现在我要求你，必须制定暑假计划，严格完成。目标，年级第一。将你初中三年的漏洞给我补齐了。再苦再累也给我撑住，要恨就恨你初中小学那九年怎么再不努力点。对于暑假怎样过，你现在有两个选择:1.放任自我，追你所谓好看的电视剧，电影，熬夜，高一回去成绩一
ZBZ
Jun 22, 2017 · Traveled 8 days
亲爱的自己
不知不觉这是第二封信了。感觉还挺有意思。今天是7月20号星期四，最近整天被一群猴孩子搞得晕头转向。刚刚毕业的我糊里糊涂的找了份工作，不知道当初的选择是错是对，大概决定的太草率没有想的很长远。希望我尽心尽力能做出一点样子，希望未来我们的小岱文能够在泰安发光发亮。家里都说这个工作不稳定，都想让考教师资格
硕哥哥的叽叽喳喳
Jul 20, 2017 · Traveled 1 year
这时的我们在干嘛
这时的我毕业了吧，我在哪里呢？这时候的你在哪里呢？
淡泊致远hit
Sep 9, 2017 · Traveled 1 year
Photo letter
时间
此时此刻躺在床上给未来的你写的写封信，现在是哪种心情写的，也许是对未来的憧憬、也许是毕业还有一个星期面对即将进去社会有点害怕了。现在的生活是你想要的吗！不知道你现在是是否对现在满意，但是这是你的选择过去的你告诉现在的你必须坚持知道没有，不能退缩不然过去的你肯定看不起你，也许你现在看到写封信有点可笑，
杀不死end
Nov 24, 2017 · Traveled 1 year
Photo letter
如果有一天
如果有一天日复一日单调的生活磨灭了你对梦想的热情请摸着胸口皮肤下那颗滚烫的心脏每一声跳动都那么铿锵有力用心去听那是多么不甘心放弃的节奏送给毕业的你 来自大二时候的自己
Rush
Jan 3, 2018 · Traveled 2 years 4 months
致2019年1月20日的我
嗨，未来的我不知道你现在过的怎么样，当你看到这封邮件时三年的大学生活快要结束了吧。现在的我在SEO研究中心毕业快有一个月了吧，感觉学完SEO后心里有点失落，总觉得缺少了点什么。可能是由于自己的执行力和经历的不够多吧，南宁SEO这个词怎么也优化不上去。对了，现在的我有在做一个新的网站项目，优化的关键词
1483279313
Jan 20, 2018 · Traveled 1 year
来自三年前的自己
这时候的我应该即将毕业了吧，不知道你的志向还在嘛。现在的我还是单身。那现在呢？
n2592
Jan 25, 2018 · Traveled 2 years 11 months
给大学毕业奋斗3多的自己
增自己 此时的我在一高对面的书店看三十六计，再开学就是大学最后一学期了，之后就要实习了，现在我想学会ps，还有会制作游戏，最想要的就是让王敏成为我的女朋友，还想要出国，要在以后买三套房子。但是现在就没有明确的工作方向，还只是个大学生，在大学宿舍和室友相处的并没有那么融洽，现在最近的目标就是和大学接触
n2658
Feb 25, 2018 · Traveled 5 years
Photo letter
莹莹
时间过得真快，我们初中毕业已经3年了，初中那些时光已经不在了，再也没有我们在一起聊这聊那了，我们那时候坐在教室讨论男生哪个长得帅女生哪个长得好看了，哈哈我们现在已经长大了，那些都是不懂事的时候的事了，不说这些了这些时光不复存在，也不可能再回去了。你已经找到了自己的另一半，小伙长得挺帅，人不错，挺实
n2661
Feb 27, 2018 · Traveled 1 year
Photo letter
写给初中毕业的我
hello！这时候的我还好吗？是不是已经初中毕业啦？高中考上啦么？是不是在为你以后的生活而苦恼？不用苦恼了，不管你考没考上都努力过对不对？每个人来到这个世界上都不是一帆风顺，我希望你可以振作起来找回你以前的那份自信，未来的路还很漫长要好好走下去听见没有？听我的话如果没有考上的话就在复读一年听明白啦么
Koyster
Mar 18, 2018 · Traveled 3 years
两年后的我
收到这份信的时候，应该已经快毕业了。大学三年能够无悔吗，升了本吗？找到你的伴侣了吗？ 还是过着以前的生活吗？ 无论怎样，请不要忘本。不要忘记作为一个人最重要的是什么！ 加油未来的我，你现在最想做的就是你必须做的。
极乐中的悲伤
Apr 5, 2018 · Traveled 2 years 4 months
写给未来的邵熙熙
亲爱的邵: 毕业在即，你开始迷茫，开始慌乱，开始横冲直撞，想一出是一出。学习呢，你静不下心，工作呢，你又不能完全上心。怎么就莫名其妙的把自己的感情寄托在一个没有见过面的人身上呢？想想你要做的事，招教，CPA，考研，哪一个都得剥掉你一层皮啊，就现在这个状态是完全不行的。所以希望你能改变，撩不到的人是因
熙熙
Apr 25, 2018 · Traveled 3 months
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I write to myself or to my classmates?
Either — or both. Writing to yourself is the classic; for classmates, just add their email or phone number. Whole dorm rooms often write together at the farewell dinner and agree to open everything on the same day in five years.
How far out should I send it?
Three to five years is the sweet spot — long enough for life to change, short enough that the bond still holds. Some send theirs to a reunion date ten years away.
What if my email changes in a few years?
Every letter has a 6-digit claim code that works no matter what — and on delivery day the system sends both an email and a text, so you're covered twice over.
Before Graduation: Write to Yourself a Few Years Out
Write yours