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毕业季 伤神季
即将踏入考场即将说byebye 即将分道扬镳即将与你分别即将成为回忆即将接受考验不要难过......
白色Empire
2015.05.30
写给未来的…
已经毕业了吧？毕业典礼好吗？学位服穿着有范吗？现在工作找到了吗，说好今年要把工作搞定的，一定要实现。
萱萱
2013.03.21
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
2021.05.22
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
2018.01.25
毕业
我有和阿雅拉古搞了吗？我对她表白了吗？毕业的时候有人对我表白吗？应该不会吧!
btzrggg
2025.07.02
写给即将毕业的自己~
两个月后的自己是什么样的呢？有没有因为“毕业”而变得成熟呢？
念酱
2015.03.23
嘿！一年啦
一年，你成长了嘛满足毕业的要求了嘛忘记该忘记的人了嘛学会打人生的牌了嘛
想要遗忘
2023.02.01
写给一年半后十五岁的自己.
毕业了吧，舍不得吧。告白了吗？中考考到建平中学了吗？别给自己留遗憾。
n481
2014.10.06
给五年后的自己
刚毕业的你一定很迷茫吧 不要着急慢慢来 一步一个脚印 提升自己
2536787769
2024.03.26
写给未来的冯源
现在小学要毕业了，小说写完了吗？加油吧，希望看到你辉煌的未来!
冯源
2018.12.21
会好的，不要担心
不必担忧，会更好的。努力毕业吧，张小睿，这是一切一切的前提
rayzhang
2026.01.01
总结
毕业进度——答辩——谢师宴工作进度——简历——复习进度
橙子林
2020.05.12
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