Teacher tracks down students to return 20-year-old letters

What if you could have a conversation with your high school self?

This teacher makes half of that conversation possible. He has his students write a letter to themselves. He keeps it for 20 years. Then he tracks them down--wherever in the world they are--and delivers the letter.

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High school teacher Bruce Farrer of Canada has been doing this service for his students for decades. The former students learn different but equally heartwarming lessons from the letters. For some, it is a memento of a time long gone.

"I wasn't really prepared to read about my grandmother or my aunt who passed away," said one former student. "I wasn't quite expecting that emotional roller-coaster."

For some it is a reminder of the person they were two decades ago.

"It's a shock," said another student, explaining his reaction. "Oh yea, I did think that way."

For others it serves as parenting advice, an account of what high school students go through.

"As a parent, if I think back to what was in my letter, that will help me appreciate where she is," said one former student.

Farrer said he doesn't mind the effort needed to track down all these students. It even brings him joy, as he gets an update on their lives.

"The kids are going every which-way," he said, "and this excites me."

Farrer is amazed by the attention his assignment has drawn, he said, and stays humble through all the thanks his students have given him.

"I'm just a regular teacher" he said, "who happened to assign a rather different assignment."

The video about Farrer was put together by Canadian airliner WestJet as part of their Above and Beyond series profiling inspiring people.