Letters to seniors from their eighth grade selves arrive at AFHS
by Daniel Moore - Power County Press Staff Writer
When Ashley Matthews was a senior in high school, a friend of hers received a special letter. It was a letter her friend had written to herself when she was in sixth grade as part of an English project. Matthews liked the idea of writing a letter to her future self, and was a little jealous of her friend. “It really stuck with me,” Matthews said. Fast forward to when Matthews became an eighth grade English teacher at William Thomas Middle School, and suddenly she had the opportunity to have students write letters to themselves, to be opened four years later when they were seniors in high school. She diligently saved the letters for the students to open at a future date. But life took an unexpected turn when her husband went back to school to become a nurse anesthetist and the family moved to Florida. She dutifully packed up four years worth of senior letters and took them with her. A few weeks ago, American Falls High School received an unanticipated package: the letters had arrived. Teacher Hailey Lusk said it was a complete surprise, and her class of senior teaching assistants quickly distributed the letters to those who were still going to school in American Falls. The students distinctly remembered writing the letters – partly because Matthews was such a memorable teacher, they said. Each year, the seniors of American Falls High School pick a favorite teacher from the high school and from the middle school to recognize as a teacher who made a difference. Two years ago, Matthews received that recognition. As far as the letters go, there were a few surprises. Some of the students had put money in the envelopes, hoping to save some for the future. Others wrote about who they might be dating in the future, and student Le Hackman was pleased she predicted that correctly. Others were pleased to see the way they had matured since middle school, including Sod Williams. “In eighth grade, I was dang annoying,” Williams said.