- We were basically asked to write a letter
to our future self.
- They said just talk about what's going on right now.
- Things I would like to remember.
- I have to write something that's not gonna embarrass me.
- Dear future me. - Dear future me.
- Dear future me. - How are you?
It's been awhile.
- I would say there's a lot more drama.
Like people are trying to date
which doesn't really make sense 'cause we're 12. (laughs)
- The clubs are great, getting more independent,
branched out, made more friends, but then there was a virus
and I didn't really talk to them anymore.
(audience claps) - Oh. (laughs)
Are you serious?
Like this whole show, that was so sad.
That was a clip from the new documentary, "Dear Future Me",
in which sixth grade students
write letters to their future selves.
I'm here with Rich Palmgren,
the teacher behind the experiment,
along with two sixth grade students
who are the most recent participants in the project.
Please, everybody welcome Mia and Isadora.
What's up y'all?
(audience cheers) - Hi.
- You wrote the letters during the pandemic,
so is that kind of what you were writing about
or what did you write about or like,
the hopes of getting out of it or what was happening?
- Yeah, definitely.
I mean, I know for me,
I wrote a lot about the Black Lives Matter protests.
I wrote a lot about COVID,
wondering when I could hug my grandparents again
without worrying about getting them sick,
getting myself sick or getting even strangers sick.
And, you know, I felt like that was one stuff I focused on
but I also threw in some personal questions, like, you know,
"Are you still friends with this person?
"Have you made more friends?
"Are you getting into a good college?"
And a lot of those, you know, things that I feel like
sixth grade me would ask future me.
- Yeah, Isadora, how about you?
- Yeah, I wrote like, like Mia said,
I wrote a lot about the pandemic
and how it was affecting me.
And I did write some personal questions.
Like, "Do you have a partner, like, are you dating anybody?"
I also asked some questions about like the world,
like something simple as
how much money does a bottle of water cost
or who's the president.
I also wrote like a few facts about myself
because I think it'll be really interesting to compare.
Like when I read this letter,
I'm gonna see how much I've changed
like based on who I was back then.
So yeah.
- It's a fantastic experiment.
I wish I would have done something like that
when I was younger.
Rich, you say people of all ages can benefit
from writing letters to themselves, right?
- Yeah, I think it's a great,
it's a great thing to do just to
reflect on who you are right now
and then set some goals for who you wanna be
and then just take, you know,
take the letter, tuck it away for 5 or even 10 years.
And just re-explore your past self
when you finally get that letter.
- So if you are more of an adult,
like how would you approach the letter?
What would you tell people to kind of, you know.
Or I guess it's whatever they wanna write, I guess.
- Well, to make the experience meaningful
there are certain things that you should definitely
put into the letter.
You should figure out
how you're going to address your future self.
So it's more of like a separate individual
having a conversation with you.
Then talking about, you know,
what's life like for you right now?
That's where you get into the almost the journaling
or the reflecting that you know, the kids have talked about.
And then even put in some mementos,
print out some things that you like,
movie posters or ticket stubs
or things that have impacted you for this particular year.
Talk about current events and then personal stuff,
things that only your future self needs to hear, things that
you know, have that little conversation
where only you and your future self
will get that information.
And then the most important part of the whole project
is to ask your future self open-ended questions
because that's where, when you open this letter
5 or 10 years from now, you're gonna say,
"Oh, here's the answer to that question
"that my past self asked."
And it actually becomes a conversation
between you and your past self.
- It's incredible, I'm totally gonna do it.
We are living through an extraordinary time
and writing a letter to your future self
is a helpful exercise, I think.
So we're gonna encourage everyone to write a letter
to the person they think they'll be five years from now.
What do you want your future self to know
about the person you are now?
What do you hope to accomplish?
What questions do you have for that future self?
Write it, set a reminder in your phone
and tuck it away somewhere safe
not to be opened until 2026.
Remember your letters should be a reflection of you.
G2 gel ink pens from Pilot are available
in four point sizes and more than 27 colors.
You can get real creative, I'm sure I will.
I'll use all the colors.
So you're sure to find the perfect student
to the person that you are today and the future you.
And "Dear Future Me" is streaming now,
y'all should definitely go check it out
and definitely join us in doing this writing experiment.
I think it's good for everyone's soul, especially now.