As seniors prepare to take on a new chapter of their lives, they revisit their childhood dreams that have since been sealed away in a time capsule. 

“In 5th grade, I wrote a time capsule I think. I probably wrote about how I wanted to be a veterinarian and loved animals. Most of this stayed the same, but now I want to be a nurse instead this year,” senior Sarah Duke said. 

Senior Gavin Elsbury’s dreams do not just include a 9-5 job. 

“My goal when I was younger was to have a dozen cats and dogs and have them all live in a big house. I have moved on since then, and currently I plan to live on a lot of land with a 1994 Chevrolet Corvette,” Elsbury said.

He explained why he has a new path.  

“For the most part, I wanted to be a veterinarian and have all those animals, but I could not watch animals be in pain like that,” Elsbury said.

Elsbury revealed his role model throughout his childhood. 

“My dad is my role model. I don’t want his business to fall to the ground to be sold to somebody else. I would like to do some internships and work under my dad to learn how to run a business. I don’t necessarily need to do that. I have other job opportunities first with a plumbing internship that I could take if I wanted to,” Elsbury said.

He gave some advice to help underclassmen navigate their dreams. 

“There is nothing that says that you have to go on to be something that someone else wants you to be. If you look at my mom, she took 12 years to finish college for a career she didn’t like and then found her calling as a social worker. She went to high school a decade before she found out what she wanted to do,” Elsbury said. 

Senior Madi Williams had more abstract dreams when she was a child. 

“When I was younger, I really wanted to be a mermaid. That is not a job I still want to do because I now know that it is not really a possibility for me unless I was some sort of performer. If I were a performer, it wouldn’t really be a real mermaid so I would not settle for that,” Williams said. 

She talked about her current aspirations and current role model. 

“Now, I want to be an art teacher. Mrs. Gullery from the Art Department has inspired me. She is a really nice person all around, and she is very good at what she does,” Williams said.