Future Me

Intentional Close
An intentional close makes space for participants to reflect on their learning and progress, assess their level of confidence, and identify personal next steps. It encourages participants to recognize the contributions they and others have made to the meeting or learning session and highlights the importance of the work.
Description

Write a letter to your “future self” about what you learned from the day’s session and what you’d like to take away.” It may be appropriate to encourage participants to offer “sage advice and heartfelt appreciations” to remind themselves of the goals and aspirations of today. The letter is then mailed or emailed to participants at a later date.

When and Why

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This is a great exercise for the start or end of the school year or the beginning or end of a professional learning. You can mail the letters at a designated time in the future or have participants use the website www.futureme.org and email themselves their letter, choosing when they would like their message sent to them through the website. Since it is completely open-ended with an audience of one, the emphasis is on self-awareness/identity and how the learning experience went for them, what they learned, and how they will use that knowledge. It also relies on self-management/agency for choosing what topics they will prioritize and how the letter will be received in the future.

How to Facilitate

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  1. Reflect on the current contexts, the demographics of participants, and the purpose of this engagement. 
  2. Hand out paper, pens, and stamped envelopes and ask participants to self-address the envelope. Be sure they also add their address as the return address to ensure delivery. Be mindful of alternatives for those who may not have a permanent address, like using the school as their address.
  3. Read/post prompts that connect to the session; for example, “What have you learned that you plan to apply in the year ahead?” “What do you want to remember from today’s session?” “What message of courage do you want to send yourself?” “What reminders about how you’re feeling right now do you want to capture in writing and send to your future self?”
  4. Collect letters in their sealed envelopes and inform participants that you will mail the letters to them at a later date.
  5. Debrief with the whole group, asking them how was that experience? What did they learn while writing the letter? What are they curious about when they receive the letter?

Modification

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  • Provide a postcard to each participant instead of paper and an envelope, reminding participants that this “letter to self” will be public since their writing will be visible during the delivery process.
  • In a virtual environment, use the “Future Me” option, with prompts and emails scheduled for future delivery.

How does Future Me support SEL?

Self-Awareness/Identity: Participants have an opportunity to understand their own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. Facilitators consider their own and participants’ identities in the design of the practice.

Responsible Decision-Making/Curiosity: Participants have an opportunity to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations. Facilitators design an activity that leads to the pursuit of knowledge and different perspectives and contributes to attention, engagement, and learning.
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