For many schools, moving from elementary to middle/high school is a transitional period… making the change from being kids to almost teenagers… moving from being the big fish in a little pond, to a small, unnoticed guppy in an ocean.
It can be a scary time, but also a celebration! To top off the event, many classes will create a time capsule. A time capsule is a container filled with memorabilia pertaining to a certain time, person/people, or event. In this particular case, students include items that are important to them for one reason or another, and the time capsule is “buried” (either in the ground, or kept in storage) to be uncovered when they are seniors.
Many time capsules include items like interesting newspaper or magazine headlines about areas of interests or significant events, as well as photographs, drawings, popular toys, receipts (to compare prices), movie stub tickets, school trip post cards, sporting event tickets, and so on.
A time capsule many include many quirky tokens of a certain time or place – such as popular toys, music, and more.
Perhaps the most important item of a time capsule is a Letter to Future Self. This is a letter a student writes to themselves about what they are like at the time, and what their future goals are… and then opens it a period of time later. Many times when the time capsule is opened, the items will be displayed in the halls, so seniors and other students can walk back into time, have some laughs, and cherish some memories.
So, what better way to hold onto those memories, and truly personalize your yearbook than to include a letter from your younger self? With Treering you can have the opportunity to include your Letter to Future Self, and read it in privacy through your own unique, customizable pages… and not have to feel the embarrassment when that certain someone realizes you had a crush on them in the 6th grade.
For those of you who didn’t have the opportunity to create one in elementary school, you could use the pages to write a Letter to Future Self in your senior year, and talk to your future self 10 years from now. That way when reunion time rolls around and you’re dusting off the ol’ yearbook… you can truly look back and see how much you have changed (or maybe not at all). Or, better yet, include both letters side-by-side to see your progression over time!
Writing your Letter to Future Self can be a great way to be honest with yourself, and a great personal touch to your yearbook.
Now that you’re sufficiently excited about having a little memento all your own included in the yearbook, you may be wondering where to start and what to include. Use these helpful hints to hit the ground running, and pour your heart out!
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- Talk about what you are doing at the current time. No, not that you are sitting in English class at 2:40 pm, waiting for the day to end, and annoyed of Mr. Jones’ questionable fashion of sandals with socks. Talk about what you are working on in school, what your favorite subject is, what you’re doing well in, and what you like/dislike about certain classes. Also, include what extracurricular activities you are in, what sports you’re excelling in, and so on.
- Explain who you really are. What are you passionate about? Are you loving your sense of humor, no matter how weird others may find it? Are you maybe taking yourself a little too seriously? Be honest with yourself – the good, the bad, and, ew, even the acne. Don’t be afraid to brag a little bit… if you think you have the best blue eyes go ahead and tell yourself. You’re not being conceited because you’re the only one that’s reading it… and you may find you need that ego boost years down the line.
- Have a heart-to-heart about family and friends. There may be those that you lose touch with over the years, or a family dynamic may change. This will be a good opportunity to look back and appreciate the way it was, remind you to get a hold of an old friend, or encourage you to go visit your parents.
- Face your fears and obstacles. Come on, be honest. Maybe you’re afraid of what it is going to be like in high school, or worse, after high school. Maybe you’ve been struggling with English, but are afraid to let someone know you need the help. Maybe you just feel like you aren’t getting the attention you need… it’s ok to let it all out.
- Set your goals and hopes for the future. Perhaps you’re bad at math right now, but you hope to be a famous architect. The future is wide open and you can be whoever you want, and do whatever you want. Don’t sell yourself short. Be honest, and write your goals down. If you want to make a million dollars in 10 years, write it down. You’d be surprised how you can achieve your goals by simply keeping track of them.
- How would you react if you met your future self? This can be a real mind warp… but if you can wrap your head around it, talk about what it would be like to meet yourself a set amount of time in the future. This is a great way to picture what you will be like in the future, and when you go back to read it, see how much that predication came true.
- Include the mushy stuff. Love and all that comes with it is, or will be, an important part of your life. Maybe you’re not so much into the lovey-dovey stuff right now, but trust me; it will play a big role later on. So, talk about your current crush, bf/gf, or maybe an upcoming exciting date. How great would it be to look back years later and see that date was the person you ended up marrying? The possibilities are endless.
- Offer yourself some advice. Older does not always mean wiser. In the future, you may need that vigorous advice through the eyes of a child or young adult, to bring things back into perspective. So, don’t worry if you don’t think you know best… you may be helping yourself out in the long run.
There are so many ways to expand on these simplified ideas. No matter what you write, it will be one-of-a-kind because it is something written by you, for you, and can never be duplicated. Using Treering to its full advantage, you can include the Letter to Future Self in your yearbook, and look back at it forever.
