House number and street



Name______________________ Hour____

A Letter to My Future Self

You are to write a letter to your future self (the person you will be when you are a senior preparing to graduate from high school). I will mail it to you near the end of your senior year.

Here is the letter format to follow:

date

Dear Twelfth-grade Me (or name),

I am writing this letter in Mr. Bens’s seventh-grade classroom. At this time… (Continue by writing about your current physical appearance. Here are some ideas: height; weight; shoe size; style of dress; hair color and style; special features of your appearance like braces, glasses or contacts, pierced ears, etc.) Make this paragraph flow so it does not sound like a list, by varying your wording and sentence structure and building upon the items.

These are some of my favorite things. (Continue by identifying and describing some of your favorites: books, movies, activities, sports teams, foods, places, websites, colors, music, etc.) Make this fit who you are, and, again, avoid sounding "listy" here, using the techniques mentioned above.

There are many important people in my life right now. (Continue by revealing some people who are very important to you—family, friends, others—providing specifics and showing why or how they are important.)

Many things have happened this school year in our world, in our school, and in my life. (In this paragraph detail some important events that have occurred in each of the three categories.)

These are my hopes and dreams for the future. (Conclude your letter by telling about your plans and dreams for the future. Ideas—What would you like to accomplish in high school: academic, personal, athletic, stage, music, and/or club goals? What do you envision for yourself after high school: college, career? How do you see your adulthood: single/married, children/not, lifestyle, and so on?) (Chronological order is probably the best organization for this paragraph.)

(Some students choose to include an extra brief paragraph with a few sentences asking questions of or wishing the best to their future self, or just ending the letter in some unique way.)

Your old self,

(Signature)

You are welcome to alter the wording of the “topic sentences” of each paragraph, but do have a sentence to guide each paragraph. Please write the paragraphs to fit who you are, but you must include all five of the paragraphs and be thorough. Remember to write with specific details.

None of the work for the letter will be done on the computer. You will handwrite two drafts or more, submit your work to me for editing and grading, and then prepare a neat and carefully handwritten final copy to send. On the final copy, after I’ve edited, don’t skip lines and don’t write the usual class heading. When you are ready to seal the final copy of your letter into your envelope, you may also wish to include a special photograph or some other meaningful item, provided it is lightweight, small, and flat. Once you seal your final copy into the envelope, throw away all previous drafts and this instructions sheet so that you forget all about the letter.

You must bring in a business-size envelope with a first-class “FOREVER” stamp. As shown below, address the envelope to yourself at your own address, but for the return address use my name (Mr. Daniel Bens) and the school address so that any undelivered letters will be returned to me and hopefully rerouted to you. If your address changes between now and the end of your senior year, inform me of that (drop a line to me or e-mail me at Parcells), and I will change the address on your envelope.

Have fun and do a good job on your letter. Amidst all the happenings of your graduation from high school, this letter will no doubt be in the far recesses of your mind, perhaps entirely forgotten, and its arrival in your mailbox ought to be a pleasant surprise, especially if you put your best into it now.

|Mr. Daniel Bens |

|FOREVER |

|Parcells Middle School |

|postage 20600 Mack Avenue |

|stamp Grosse Pointe Woods, MI |

|48236 |

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|YOUR NAME |

|YOUR ADDRESS |

|YOUR CITY, STATE |

|YOUR ZIP CODE |

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