Graduations, school years and alumni
Everyone who got them here has a story about them.
The teacher who saw something early. The friend from the first week. The parent who drove them to every exam. Ask each of them for one story about the person crossing that stage.
A graduation is the end of years nobody wrote down.
The certificate says what they finished. It says nothing about the project they nearly gave up on, the friend who talked them round, or the morning they finally understood something everyone had been explaining for a month.
The people around them saw all of that, each from a different side: family at home, teachers in the classroom, friends everywhere else.
Ask them now, while it is fresh and before everyone scatters. It is the kind of thing the graduate will want to read again in twenty years.
An illustration with the characters of The Hangover, an affectionate parody not affiliated with Warner Bros
A moment I'm proud of.
For Maya, on finishing school
A high school in Southern California · Collected for Maya's graduation · 5 people · 15 memories
15 stories
the lemonade stand
Elena, Maya's mother (invented) · 2013
When Maya was six she ran a lemonade stand at the end of our drive with a notebook for the accounts. Every cup went in the notebook. So did every cup she gave away, under a separate heading she called "friends". By the end of the afternoon the friends column was longer than the sold column and she had made hardly any money. When I suggested charging her friends, she said they belonged in the other column. I still have the notebook.
the forty-minute walk
Nico, Maya's classmate and friend (invented) · 2021
We missed the bus on the morning of a chemistry exam. I wanted to call my mom. Maya said it was faster to walk, which was not true, and quizzed me on chemistry the whole way there. Every time I got one wrong she made me say it again at the next corner. We were four minutes late. They let us in. I passed. She asked which questions I'd got wrong.
the raffle tickets
Doug, family friend who volunteered at a school event · 2023
I volunteered at the school fundraiser and Maya, who was running it, put me on the raffle. I lost the tickets within the first hour. I went to tell her, fully prepared to apologise, and before I'd finished she handed me an unopened spare roll. She didn't say anything about it. She'd also priced the brownies wrong and spent the next hour arguing that it was a strategy.
she called me on my nonsense
Phil, Maya's teacher · When I first knew her
maya showed up in my class and immediately wanted to know why we were doing things a certain way. not in an annoying way. ok, sometimes in an annoying way. but she actually listened to the answer, which put her ahead of most adults i know. i remember setting a group assignment and telling everyone it would be simple. she raised her hand and pointed out three parts that weren't simple. she was right about two of them. i changed the instructions. don't tell her i said that. she already thinks she's in charge.
Share a story. A small moment is enough.
Her teacher saw confidence. Maya admits she nearly quit. It takes both accounts to see how the project really got finished.
How it works
Free to collect. Free to read. No accounts for anyone you invite.
- 1
Start a collection
Give it a name and say who or what it is about. It takes a minute and it is free.
- 2
Send the link
Share it however your group already talks: WhatsApp, a text, an email, or a QR code on the table.
- 3
Everyone adds what they remember
Written down, or simply spoken aloud and written up for them. Photos too. Nobody needs an account; a name is enough.
- 4
Read it together
Every memory, in each person's own words, kept privately for you and whoever you choose to share it with. Collecting and reading is always free.
Questions that help
You don't have to start with a blank page.
These get people past "so proud of you" and into the stories they will still be telling in twenty years.
- When did you first get to know them?
- Tell us about a time they surprised you.
- What's a moment you were proud of them?
- What's a story about them they might have forgotten?
- What's the first thing you remember?
- Was there a moment nobody else noticed?
- What would you never want to forget?
Every question is optional. Anyone can skip straight to writing, or talking.
Questions people ask
Can teachers and parents take part?
Yes. Anyone with the link can add a memory and say who they are: a student, a teacher, a parent, a friend.
Can we keep it a surprise until the ceremony?
Yes. Share the link privately with the people you invite and ask them to keep it from the graduate until you're ready.
Can we leave out anything embarrassing?
Yes. You choose which memories go into the finished story, and you can edit or remove anything before it is shared.
Does it cost anything?
No. Starting a collection, adding memories and reading them is free for everybody.
Who can see what people write?
Only the people you invite. Every collection is private when it is created, nothing is listed publicly or shown to search engines, and you decide whether contributors can read each other's memories.
Is the finished story written by AI?
Yes, and it is held to what people actually said. It works only from the memories you include, quotes people in their own words, and says so plainly where two people remember something differently. It does not invent events, dialogue or feelings. The original memories are always kept underneath, and you can edit anything before it is shared.
Ask everyone for one story about them.
Start a collection, share the link with family, teachers and friends, and give the graduate the years they can't see from the inside.