By Emma Stone
Cedar Creek seniors spent the day opening boxes filled with letters from themselves, parents and trinkets from 2017.
Christy Mabou, former Cedar Creek science teacher, began the project and started with teaching students about setting goals.
“I had a very goal-oriented and self-driven class that year,” said Mabou. “So I got them to write where they saw themselves five or 10 years from now.”
Mabou kept the letters in her storage room for over three years. Throughout 2017 to 2019, some students had built their boxes and others had different knick-knacks included.
One important aspect, however, was that Mabou asked parents to write a letter without telling their kids.
One student, Madison Bratton, had lost her mother to colon cancer but received a letter from her.
The time capsule opening was on her mother’s birthday, commemorating that moment for Bratton.
“I didn’t realize how special it would be to me, but it made it even better that I got to open a letter from my Mom on her birthday,” said Bratton. “Ever since she passed, I’ve wanted to talk to her again and this letter felt like we were sitting in the living room and she was talking to me. This letter is something I will cherish forever and it made it even more special that it was in her handwriting.”
Mabou said she had witnessed a lot of emotion from students who felt proud of how far they have come.
“I remember one student shedding tears, because she had pretty much achieved all she set out to achieve up to that point,” said Mabou.
Pizza was offered to the students for lunch and those who couldn’t make it will be shipped their time capsule.
“It is just something that I thought that I needed to do for my kids,” said Mabou. “The kids love it and the parents loved it. It’s something the kids will always have to look back on.”
