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你好，未来的王韵凯
你好，未来的我我是5年前的你，５年前的王韵凯今天是我们的生日，当然在“今年”，你可能都举办生日派对了今年，你应该也要毕业了，还记得在５年前你心仪的大学吗？对，就是威斯康星麦迪逊分校。当时还是因为你觉得这个大学和Apple公司有合作，可以免费租借Macbook Pro/Air。（别忘记你是个果粉（do
n7094
May 11, 2021 · Traveled 4 years 10 months
终于毕业了！感觉怎么样
你觉得怎么样呢？是不是你期待的，感觉还可以吗？你们还在一起吗？对未来的打算呢？
n7131
May 22, 2021 · Traveled 1 day
Photo letter
2021的第三封信
很久没写，但又想不到写些什么现在心里只想着一件事，要上岸这样就会没那么害怕失去的了吧前一段时间，待业在家，心情比较焦虑，情绪总是因为他跌宕起伏，也曾很失望过，但自从没那么放心上后，好像事情又变得顺畅了很多。每次当自己怀疑，觉得他不在乎我的时候，好像他又在乎了起来，忽近忽远这件事，在去年五月份的时候不
R_Moku
May 23, 2021 · Traveled 1 month 8 days
写给一年后的自己
今天是2021年5月的最后一天。转眼间，2021年已经是大半年过去了 ，可是我却过得非常失败，我的写作事业丝毫没有起色，我整个人变得颓废而精神萎靡。我突然就失去了方向和斗志。但是我不想要这样啊，真的不想。我希望自己能够振作起来，我有好多的梦想要实现。希望一年后的我，看到这封信的时候，我已经是振作了起
n7149
May 30, 2021 · Traveled 1 day
毕业酒吧
昨天麻将酒吧，可能明天15号就要去东莞了，和人事商量也不知道能不能改晚几天，王雄今晚就要回去了，昨天和姚含坐车回来了，王浩和黄泽泓通宵了，害。杨涛，黄泽泓和贺奇邦的饭都还没来得及吃！！！也不知道新忠以后会怎么工作，等我收到邮件的时候。王俊杰估计已经研究生毕业了吧，也不知道他们几个要不要读博
n7196
Jun 14, 2021 · Traveled 4 years
你好
你好，这么长时间过去了，你现在应该是一名国家公职人员了吧。穿着哪个单位的制服，是不是很好看。是不是已经结婚了。而我现在还是一名即将毕业的大学生，昨天把杰哥送到车站，过几天我也要毕业了。等到毕业，就回去上课，今年国考就把税务局考上，希望在看到这封信的时候，一切都有了。休息了 再见
张一
Jun 17, 2021 · Traveled 4 years 6 months
写给未来的尹崇明
今天发了成绩单，好烦啊，考了第九名，但是没想到平均分居然有87.3，得感谢赵老师辛勤拉拽给我面子把那些写字的作业都打了高分。键盘膜拆了好舒服芜湖芜湖！最近有点讨厌写东西，因为写起来老觉得就是在抒情抒情烦死了，那么励志干什么我好叛逆的！大学生活不知不觉就要结束了，真快啊，今年居然是2021 我真不敢相
米苏
Sep 4, 2021 · Traveled 1 year
写给未来的你
就两年吧，（又改为一年了！现在变得越来越浮躁了，不喜欢等待。最近在和一个叫“庭之采之”的重庆网友写信，我好喜欢这种淡淡的，有边界感的交流啊！希望那时候依然会有联系吧。现在你应该在为毕业去向而烦恼吧，我也很烦呀，就因为有机化学挂了，现在失去了好多好多机会。现在在练科二哦，那时候你已经拿到驾照啦。在写这
n7467
Oct 16, 2021 · Traveled 1 year
未来的郑紫筠
要毕业的郑紫筠你好呀！毕业论文写完了吗，答辩结束了吗，考研考上了吗，有对象了吗，生活愉快吗？两年前的时候有点痛苦，希望可以成为两年后的垫脚石，越来越好呀！
n7557
Nov 29, 2021 · Traveled 2 years 6 months
我是周崽崽哦lzy
宝宝我们这个时候应该还是会好好的腻歪在一起吧宝宝，这个时候可能应该毕业啦嘿嘿嘿，今天是22年2月5号哦，今天你来姨妈发脾气了，嘿嘿嘿，我凶你了，但是不要担心哦，我很爱你，我没有减分过哦，毕业了怎么办呢宝宝，考不上大学怎么办呢宝宝，你家里人看不上我怎么办呢宝宝，哭了我，我太怕我以后没钱了，我太怕你不能
n7703
Feb 5, 2022 · Traveled 3 years
写给24岁的谢先生
这是来自2022年的一封信，两年后的今天我还在你身旁吗？不出意外的话我们应该有了一只猫，已经一起生活有一段时间了吧。我们即将迎来毕业工作，可能已经选好了要定居的城市，要从事的行业。 虽然不清楚我们是否会被那一纸红印章的证书和无数个琐碎的日夜消磨殆尽。也许生活本来的样子就是爱恨交织，我没办法不承认自己
fuuyqian
Mar 10, 2022 · Traveled 1 year 11 months
写给中考后的杨雨静
希望我们的友情不会因为毕业而感情变淡 mgd
n7881
May 5, 2022 · Traveled 1 month 14 days
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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