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.
How to write this letter
- 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
296 public letters写给未来的…
你好，未来的我………时间过的真快啊，不知不觉好几年过去了，这时候的你已经毕业了吧，不知道在国外的这几年你感觉怎么样呢？开心？难过？还是孤独？不过这都不重要了，你已经毕业啦，希望未来的你更加努力，加油！
n5833
2020.11.28
易复俊
现在你还好吗？技术学会了没有，挣到钱了吗？家庭合睦吗？父母健康吗？时间佷快，你总是说的一句话先成为更好的自己，再去遇见一个不需取悦的人，所以你成为了没有？2022年你中专毕业上大专，加油吧！小易同志！
狗哥永远的忠粉
2020.11.28
写给未来的…
这是来自四年前的邮件，咱俩现在是大一，四年后咱俩也该毕业了，我幻想着大学毕业之后咱俩能够结婚，风风雨雨走过来了，遇到你很开心，随吵吵分分，但始终不离不弃，愿四年后你我能结婚，永远在一起！
n5685
2020.11.28
22岁的你还好吗
今年毕业了吧 也不知道现在的我是什么样子的 是像专科毕业时一样碌碌无为嘛还是已经洗心革面重新做人了 加油啊 你身上的压力越来越大了 对了烟戒掉了没 python学会了没
n6145
2020.12.02
写给未来的…
这时的你应该高考完了吧，路是自己走的，走的方式是你自己选的，所以不管结果如何，都要自己负责。要祝福这时的自己终于毕业了，祝贺你，唐维。我知道2013年的我会过的很辛苦
维维vivi
2013.03.26
给毕业后的自己写封信
你的插画学的怎么样了？还像现在一样迷茫吗？有过后悔吗？至少我现在想象不来我后悔的样子，所以我觉得你也不会，你肯定坚持下去并成功了吧，我也觉得你不会再杞人忧天了。
3352887386
2024.03.26
猜猜看
猜猜看，为什么会收到这封邮件，哈哈，三年前的今天我也收到了一封邮件，然后认识了一个有趣的人，不亏不亏。现在的你应该本科毕业了，不管是工作还是读研祝你一切顺利。
解忧杂货店
2016.05.15
额 不知道起什么好
相信你现在已经毕业了 额。。。 不知道未来的自己会变成什么样子 总之不要后悔自己的选择 奋斗吧
n5480
2020.11.28
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
2021.11.29
写给十年后的自己
hi,最近过得还好吗？现在是2022年6月17号，距离大学毕业还有一周的时间。我猜你现在应该结婚了吧，还是当初的那个他吗？现在过得快乐吗？工作稳定了吗？
n8021
2022.06.17
写给毕业后的我和你
这时候我们俩可能在一起3个月了 嘿嘿嘿 我要去当兵了 现在是 11月27号九点55分 虽然 现在学专业也很累 我每天都在想你啊
n5347
2020.11.27
写给未来的我自己
今天我就快毕业了，我希望这个时候的我可以有勇气对你说：“你知道吗，我曾经喜欢了你三年，这段淡淡的心动缠绵了我整个大学的青色时光”李晔强，你知道吗···
张浅浅
2013.04.05
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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