Your Senior-Year Self Is Going to Thank You

Quick question:

What did you do in September of freshman year?

What was the name of that volunteer project?

How many hours did you work?

What was that award you received sophomore year?

Who sponsored the leadership program you attended?

If you’re a senior trying to remember four years of your life, these questions can suddenly become surprisingly difficult.

That’s why we’re going to help you do something now that will make college applications, scholarship applications, résumés and recommendation letters much easier later.

We’re going to build a:

Future You File

Think of it as a running record of you becoming you.

Not just your grades.

Not just your awards.

The activities, experiences, jobs, projects, accomplishments and moments that tell the story of what you did during high school.

And it takes only a few minutes to start.

Why You Need One

During senior year, you’re going to be asked questions like:

What activities have you participated in?

What leadership positions have you held?

How have you served your community?

What honors or awards have you received?

How many hours per week did you participate?

How many weeks per year?

What did you accomplish?

What responsibilities did you have?

And suddenly:

“I volunteered at the food bank a bunch sophomore year” isn’t quite enough information.

The problem isn’t that students haven’t done interesting things.

They simply can’t remember the details.

Your Future You File fixes that.

What Goes Into Your Future You File?

More than you might think.

Keep track of:

• School clubs and organizations
• Sports
• Fine arts
• Volunteer work
• Church and community activities
• Jobs
• Internships
• Summer programs
• Leadership positions
• Academic awards
• Athletic awards
• Certifications
• Competitions
• Special projects
• Research
• Career exploration
• Hobbies
• Entrepreneurship
• Family responsibilities
• Major accomplishments

Yes, family responsibilities count.

Maybe you pick up your younger siblings every afternoon.

Maybe you help care for a grandparent.

Maybe you work 15 hours a week.

Maybe you help in your family’s business.

Your high school story isn’t limited to what happens inside the school building.

Don’t Just Record WHAT You Did

This is where your Future You File becomes really valuable.

For every important activity, record:

What did I do?

When did I do it?

How much time did I spend?

What was my role?

What did I accomplish?

Did I lead anything?

Did I solve a problem?

Did I create or improve something?

Did anyone benefit from my work?

Whenever possible, include numbers.

Instead of:

Helped with school food drive

write:

Helped organize a school food drive that collected more than 1,200 items for our local food pantry.

Instead of:

Worked at summer camp

write:

Worked 25 hours per week for eight weeks supervising elementary-age campers and helping lead daily activities.

Details tell the story.

Keep the Little Things, Too

Don’t decide at 15 what will or won’t matter when you’re 18.

Save it.

That certificate you received?

Save it.

The email congratulating you on being selected for something?

Save it.

A photo from the service project you organized?

Save it.

The flyer from the summer program?

Save it.

The nice email your teacher sent about the project you created?

Absolutely save it.

Future You can decide what’s important later.

Present You just needs to keep it.

Use Trello to Build Your File

If you’re already using Trello to organize school, create another board called:

MY FUTURE YOU FILE

Create lists for:

ACTIVITIES

SERVICE

LEADERSHIP

WORK & INTERNSHIPS

AWARDS & HONORS

SUMMER EXPERIENCES

PROJECTS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS

THINGS I’M PROUD OF

Every experience can become a Trello card.

Inside the card, add the important details.

For example:

Community Food Drive

Grade: 10th
Dates: November 3–17
Role: Student volunteer
Time: Approximately 12 hours
What I did: Helped promote the drive, collect donations and organize items.
Result: Our school collected 1,200+ items for the local food pantry.

You can even attach photos, documents, certificates or links to the card.

Now everything is in one place.

Create a “Bragging Rights” List

Yes, we’re giving you permission to brag.

Create a section called:

BRAGGING RIGHTS

Add moments you’re proud of—even if they don’t seem important enough for an application.

Maybe you:

Got your first A in a difficult class.

Made varsity.

Performed your first solo.

Helped a younger student.

Completed your first 5K.

Earned your first paycheck.

Built a computer.

Sold something you created.

Learned to speak in front of a crowd.

Organized an event.

Overcame something difficult.

Why save these?

Because someday you may be staring at an essay question asking:

“Tell us about an experience that helped you grow.”

And there, sitting inside your Future You File, may be the beginning of your answer.

Keep a “Good Stories” Section

This might become your favorite part.

College and scholarship essays often aren’t really about awards.

They’re about stories.

Create a list called:

GOOD STORIES

Whenever something happens that teaches you something, write a few sentences about it.

Maybe you completely failed at something.

Maybe someone said something you’ll never forget.

Maybe you took a risk.

Maybe you changed your mind about something.

Maybe you helped someone.

Maybe you discovered something you love.

Maybe something was really, really hard.

Write it down while you remember how it felt.

Three years later, those little notes can become wonderful essay material.

Parents: You Can Help With This One

Parents tend to remember things students forget.

You remember the award ceremony.

You took the picture.

You probably still have the certificate somewhere.

Help your student gather information—but let the file belong to them.

A few times each year, ask:

“Is there anything we should add to your Future You File?”

That’s enough.

Do a 15-Minute Update Every Semester

You don’t need to maintain this every day.

At the end of each semester, set a timer for 15 minutes.

Ask yourself:

What did I do?

What did I accomplish?

What did I learn?

What am I proud of?

What should I save?

Update your file.

Then go enjoy your break.

By Senior Year…

Something wonderful happens.

Instead of sitting at the kitchen table trying to reconstruct four years of high school from memory, you open your Future You File.

There it is.

Your activities.

Your service.

Your jobs.

Your leadership.

Your accomplishments.

Your awards.

Your hours.

Your stories.

Your growth.

Now you have the raw material for:

College applications.

Scholarship applications.

Your résumé.

Recommendation requests.

Interviews.

Essays.

And perhaps most importantly, you have a record of how much you’ve grown.

Start Today

Don’t worry about making your Future You File perfect.

Open Trello.

Create the board.

Add what you can remember.

Then keep adding to it as you move through high school.

Five minutes here.

Ten minutes there.

One card at a time.

Because one day, Future You is going to be filling out an application that asks:

“Please list your activities and accomplishments from grades 9–12.”

And instead of saying:

“Mom! What did I do freshman year?”

You’ll simply open your file.

Future You is going to be very impressed with Present You.

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