On New Year's Eve, Write to Next Year's You
On the last night of the year, every feed fills up with year-in-review posts and resolutions. Be honest: how many of those are remembered by March? Maybe the real point of New Year's Eve isn't a loud goodbye but a quiet handover — formally passing this year's you to the next. December 31st is one of the busiest writing nights here every year. Some people turn their year-end review into a letter, addressed to themselves on this same night next year. Some seal up three resolutions and treat next year's opening like a prize drawing. And some just want to say, over the sound of fireworks: this time next year, I hope you're doing better than I am tonight. Unlike a post, this letter has exactly one reader — the you of one year from now. There's no audience, so there's no performing, and that's what makes it honest. Below are New Year's letters people chose to share. This year, after the countdown, leave one behind for the same night next year.
Ideas to get you started
- Sum up the year in three words, then explain why those three. It's the first thing next-year-you will flip to.
- Write three resolutions — but concrete ones. Not "get rich" but "save 30,000." Only checkable wishes are fun to grade.
- Set the scene: who you're counting down with, where you are, whether there are fireworks outside. A year on, this is the part with the most texture.
- Schedule it for next December 31st, and you've started your own New Year tradition.
Real letters from the vault
144 public letters。。
新年快乐 蛇年大吉愿自己和家人平平安安 健健康康 财运滚滚
Jan 28, 2025 · Traveled 1 day
。。。
新年快乐~~~万事如意身体健康~~~平平安安愿逆风如解意,容易莫摧残
Jan 29, 2025 · Traveled 1 day
我自己
哎呀,妈的,刚看完24年那二比小子写的信,真踏马有激情啊,真牛逼,又是同一个时间,同一个地点,我又抬笔了,但是我也不知道要写什么了。新年快乐
Feb 1, 2025 · Traveled 1 year
我自己
哎呀,妈的,刚看完24年那二比小子写的信,真踏马有激情啊,真牛逼,又是同一个时间,同一个地点,我又抬笔了,但是我也不知道要写什么了。新年快乐
Feb 1, 2025 · Traveled 1 year
未来决定现在
近几天重新简单回顾了基础哲学,也是些很表面不够深入的内容。我得出了观点,或者说是我从别人那里吸取过来的,那就是未来决定现在。 这是个反直觉的结论,我们会想着没有现在哪有未来。但此时此刻,我更愿意相信是未来决定了现在。举个例子我三天后就要去学校论文答辩了,如果不是要去答辩,我大概率不会去学校,我更倾向
May 4, 2025 · Traveled 9 months 13 days
加油
今天是一月28号,除夕夜,在俱乐部里思考前路,依照无望。(7/12)你们懂不懂那种,就是看清了,却还想继续当兵的感觉吗,就是,你已经找到答案了,但你还是舍不得,一边内耗,一边自愈,一会儿想通,一会又想不通,反反复复,患得患失,折磨自己,某一瞬间情绪上头,失眠,崩溃,心痛,这种滋味,有谁懂。接2025
Sep 4, 2025 · Traveled 1 day
2026新年快乐
亲爱的自己:我是来自2025年9月5号18点40分的你,我现在坐在快手会议室里给你码下这封邮件。今天收到了来自24年的两封信件,过去的确困难重重,恭喜你走到现在!以及新年快乐!!!先和你分享一下我的近况:学习方面,我在修改我的小论文,以及收尾加勒比文学项目;工作方面,这是我的第三段实习,在快手每天过
Sep 5, 2025 · Traveled 3 months 27 days
新年快乐宝宝
亲爱的霖 今天是你17岁的生日 我为你写下这一封信 我不想让它等太久再让你看到 所以我想让它在今年的最后一天来到你的身边想到我们的遇见真的是一件很奇妙的事情 一个在前十几年没有任何交集的两个人竟然可以爱上对方 我把你视为最重要的人 看来缘分真的很奇妙 不知道在崭新的一年里我还在不在你的身边 我们在过
Oct 1, 2025 · Traveled 2 months 30 days
新年快乐
你好呀,新年快乐。 我想在经过了一年的自重训练后你已经能学会倒立了,可能不熟练还是会摔倒,还是会怀疑自己的努力,那都不要紧,我相信你与一年前的自己比无论是身材,力量,还是神经系统肯定都有大的变化。 这是有史以来你坚持了最久的锻炼,你在去年答应自己的事情做到了,很棒。我也希望无论未来会怎么变化或者训练
Oct 17, 2025 · Traveled 4 months
跨年祝福
hi~~~原赈同学,你好呀; 或许你已经不记得了,今天晚上8点,将会收到来自过去的我的一封邮件。 首先鼓励你一下,2025年你辛苦了,无论工作、家庭、社交你都有很大的付出,我也觉得你应该会收获满满!要抱有一颗感恩的心,你遇到的所有的事情,都是注定;开心的也好、难过的也罢、都已经过去,你好好思考思考;
Oct 27, 2025 · Traveled 2 months 4 days
来自2025年10月27日的邮件
hello,施静雯,今天距离高考还有222天,当你看到这封信的时候会不会距离高考越来越近了,今天是跨年,等明天就是新的一年了,要有一个好的开头,更加努力加油!最近过的怎么样,有没有好好努力,不要给自己太大压力,有没有好好生活复习,不要浪费自己的时间了,我相信你一定会考上大学的好吗,虽然我现在把握并不
Oct 27, 2025 · Traveled 2 months 4 days
写给你
今年过年怎么那么晚,你收到这封信的时候我已经去找过你了,不管敲门之后的结果是什么,我觉得都还是做一个长期主义者。虽然现在的一切都非常快,就像AI 发展一天一个样,还记得去年过年时刚刚爆出来的 DeepSeek仅仅可以简单对话,到现在模型都在互相卷,已经可以支持多模态支持记忆,ai 可以帮忙写代码了,
Jan 4, 2026 · Traveled 1 month 12 days
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from a list of resolutions?
A plan is written for present-you to execute; this letter is written for future-you to read. It doesn't need to be achieved — only honest. That's why it outlives every resolution list.
I missed New Year's Eve. Too late?
Not at all. The first days of January — even the whole month — work fine. Just set delivery for next New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. The ritual lives in the arrival, not the writing.
What if none of my wishes come true — won't the letter sting?
Most people find the opposite: what moves them isn't whether the wishes landed, but rediscovering how last year's self actually thought. The unfinished wishes simply go into the next letter.
On New Year's Eve, Write to Next Year's You
Write yours