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 lettersFrank
嗨，丫头。刚考完了吗？觉得考的怎么样？这封信给你，不用回复你只需要好好看看就行了。未来会怎么样？是阳光还是迷茫，你会离开学习，生活一起十年左右的校园，去到其他的地方，你肯定会怀念，你就是这样一个人，念旧。害怕吗？害怕长大吗？我怕，我怕有一天，我不再看动漫了，我不在积极向上了，我害怕有一天，我突然很要
n4784
Mar 9, 2020 · Traveled 3 months 14 days
5年后的自己
嘿，你在干嘛呢？又是一个失眠的晚上。临近毕业了，最近这两年，接触社会，你真的吃了不少苦。遇到渣男，被欺骗感情，不断降低甚至违反自己的原则去讨好一个人。碌碌无为，贪玩，考研失败。好在，你在这儿，有了一套房子，遇到了还算包容的他现在你需要，考研，考研，考研！！！一切都会过去的，今后的你，只会面临更多困难
Dooohy
Mar 21, 2020 · Traveled 5 years
你好
你好，我已经学会了做事不后悔，删除了再无瓜葛的无关好友。同时选择了一条最有意义的道路走下去（充满谨慎地）现在你应该快要毕业答辩了吧，马上就要取得学业完成的证书了。希望你没有舍弃，不对，应该说希望你坚持了“追寻真理”的道路。好的，我就长话短说到这里了。希望你一定比现在的我成熟许多，沉稳许多。再见！
索贝克神
May 11, 2020 · Traveled 1 year
总结
毕业进度——答辩——谢师宴工作进度——简历——复习进度
橙子林
May 12, 2020 · Traveled 7 days
你猜
还有说不完的话风催着我们出发把笑和泪都留下留在这一年的夏对于未来的想法有太多疑问没有回答关于面包和理想还有平凡和伟大那就这样出发再见吧 和我一样匆忙的人啊你们的歌声在遥远的路上轻轻回响【时间会回答成长成长会回答梦想梦想会回答生活生活回答你我的模样海洋会回答江湖江湖会回答河流河流会回答浪潮一起跃入人海
戴鹰酱面具的兔
Jun 4, 2020 · Traveled 3 years 2 months
工作三年，是否有成，父母安康？
今天拍毕业照，游离一旁，三年工作只希望父母能吃饱喝足
n5002
Jun 9, 2020 · Traveled 3 years
给快毕业的自己
这个时候的你，应该要毕业了吧，如果没有意外，你现在应该很开心。这一年来你完成了太多事，弥补之前落下的，完成现在进行的，还要为了今后的生活努力，你真的辛苦了！我没办法代表过去的自己向你道歉，因为现在的我也是受害者，疲于应付课业，重修，还有考研。最最糟糕的一件事：拖延的习惯虽有改善但还是存在，预计的计划
季末
Jun 11, 2020 · Traveled 1 year
Photo letter
写给一年后的我们
亲爱的:今天是2020.6.10，所以你看到这封信已经是一年后啦。哈哈哈，现在的我刚吃完晚饭，在床上躺着呢，刚在qq发现给对方未来的信，然后我就想给写一封信啦。宝贝，现在的我也快要毕业了呢，即将离开校园生活，将要和你一起为我们的未来努力。时间真的是好快好快，我们已经在一起俩年多了，还记得刚在一起在北
乔
Jun 12, 2020 · Traveled 11 months 30 days
明年见
你现在过得好吗？我现在不知道怎么办，别人都说我考不上高中 我自己觉得也是 我想出去打工 想回老家 最近总是莫名其妙的想哭 不知道怎么回事 考不上高中就考不上高中吧 我现在也不在意了 今天去拍毕业照 拍照的说我没神 上一年拍照的说我笑的好假 我自己都没有觉得 但我就是不开心 不想笑了 累了 愿你以后多
林筱冉
Jun 18, 2020 · Traveled 2 months 16 days
写给四年后毕业的你
今年毕业了吧，不知道这三年你有没有交到男朋友，减肥成功了吗，男朋友帅不帅，自己不生小孩的想法有没有变过，哎。今天是2020年6月24中午快两点了，今天中午没有去驾校，想来这时候应该把驾照都拿到手了吧好难受啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊好热不说了现在要去准备弄大二助学贷款续贷的事情了太热了不想去四
n5046
Jun 24, 2020 · Traveled 3 years 2 months
写给未来的自己
www.2585175776@qq.com 你好啊。未来的自己，这时候的你应该开心的准备毕业了吧。回想2017年入学，还好像在昨天一样，转场的一年很累吧，这种疯狂学习的感觉应该和高三没什么两样吧，也许现在的你已经满心期待的准备高教的改装了，可以一年前的你现在心中很是忐忑，每到一个新的环境都是全新的考
n5148
Jul 25, 2020 · Traveled 1 year
习惯与某个人分开的时光
那天是2020年8月18日，内心深感孤独与失落，因为chen师兄15号毕业离校了，一起学习的伙伴奔赴他自己的岗位了，内心有一种不出的难过。刚入这个校园的时候， 也曾感到过这种孤单，但慢慢就排解了。可是，师兄的离校，又一次让我陷入无比的失落 中，感觉一切都是没有意义的！好不容易在这个校园里有了一个真正
明天520lover
Aug 18, 2020 · Traveled 1 month
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
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