Dear Universe,

My future self is smiling right now.

My friend discovered there is a way, several in fact, to write yourself an email now and have it arrive at some point in the future.

Maybe I don’t need a Delorean after all!

The emails can be sent in an hour, in case you want to remind yourself of something pressing, but they can be sent far into the future too.  I can write myself an email and have it arrive in ten years—provided I keep the same email address.  (I think I will just for that).

You can even send an email to arrive to an address in a hundred years—in case you want to spook future grandchildren?

Some of the sites that provide this service are:

http://www.mailfreezr.com/

http://www.futureme.org/

http://emailfuture.com/

(On the last two sites you can read some of the letters that were made public).

When I was a senior in high school, my English teacher asked us to write a letter to ourselves and to seal it in an envelope.  The last day of school she returned them to us.  I liked receiving the letter so much I kept up the ritual in my own life with letters or lists to be opened sometime in the future.

Naturally, when I began teaching high school English, I had to pass the tradition on.  I would tell my students they could write whatever they wanted: what’s going on in their lives, predictions for the future or what they hoped for the coming year.  Inevitably, almost all of them would forget about the letter and on that last day of school I felt like I was delivering a present of sorts.

Their reactions varied.  Messages arriving from the past can be inspirational, poignant or comforting, but sometimes haunting or cryptic.  One or two would tear, but most would smile.  Others would laugh and a few would yell out at how foolish, or how right on, their past selves were.

Universe, you know I’m going to give this email idea a whirl.  I’ll start small.  The first letter can come in six months.  I don’t think I want to wait ten years.  And I’ll keep the tone and message light and positive.

Thanks for the inspiration.  (My future self thanks you too).

With Gratitude,

A