Seniors who had Mrs. Mullin at Stanley Elementary will receive a letter from their fifth grade selves this year. Senior Kiley Barnum discussed her thoughts on what her younger self might have to say to her. 

“I made a list of who my friends were at the time, who was involved in my life and what I was up to,” Barnum said. “I was definitely boy crazy, so [there was] like, ‘this is who I like.’” 

Being boy crazy isn’t the only thing Barnum grew out of. Like many others at the time, she was set on a ca

reer she no longer wishes to pursue. 

“I still wanted to be a teacher, so I was very set on [asking] ‘What would you teach?’ or ‘Where would you teach?’,” Barnum said. “Now I want to be a police officer — that’s a little bit of a change.”

More than the career, Barnum believes the people in her life is what has changed the most. 

“I’ve gained a lot of nieces and nephews in these four years, and my circle of friends definitely changed,” Barnum said. “I’m interested to see how many people I put down where it’s like, ‘Oh, I knew you in middle school and now I don’t know who you are.’” 

Many people when thinking about themselves wonder if their younger selves would take pride in who they have become — Barnum believes her younger self would.

“I always had a big mouth,

but I hadn’t really used my big mouth back then,” she said. “I was really like ‘You’re going to start standing up for yourself when people push you over.’ Little Kylie would be like, ‘That’s good. I like that. I’m proud of that.’”

Our present selves will one day become what we deem the past, and just as before, Barnum has things to say to her future self.

“‘Don’t have children’ — that’s just a lot of money. Being 18 and being able to do whatever I want, keep the freedom that keeps you young,” Barnum said. “‘Keep dreaming’ because I feel like dreams give you goals and they keep you moving. That way it’s fulfillment within yourself that you’d be able to be that friend you don’t have. I’m doing it for somebody else, and that always makes you feel good.”