The purpose of this activity is to allow students to see the value of their everyday experiences and how they play a part in their future no matter how insignificant they seem. These are the “stepping stones” to their dream lifestyle.

To begin this activity ask students to write down 2-3 things that they do on a day to day basis. Examples of this could include who they hang out with, what extracurriculars they’re involved in, whether they have a part time job, what they do when they get home from school, etc.

Ask students the following:

Do you think the activities /extracurriculars that you wrote down are contributing in some way to your future?

Students will have varying answers. If students answer yes ask them how they believe they are contributing to their future, if they answer no ask them why they think that.

Explain to students that every experience is a stepping stone for the moments they are trying to achieve. No one should ever turn down or be turned off by experiences that don’t seem ideal at the moment, these are the experiences that will make you realize what you like, what you dislike, what your strengths and weaknesses are and who you want to be. It won’t always be evident at the time how working at McDonalds, losing a dance competition or volunteering at a shelter will better your future, but every moment leaves an impression. You’ll be surprised to see how the people you meet, the tedious everyday tasks you’re told to do and the challenges you face will help you in your

Note: Feel free to share a personal example of an experience that seemed insignificant at the time that helped you in your future.

To emphasize this point to your students, play the following Every Experience Matters video.

FLIPGRID ACTIVITY Optional

Have students create a FLIPGRID reflective video based on one of the extracurriculars they wrote down.
To aid in their response, provide the students with the following prompt:

Explain what value your extracurricular has had or could have on your future (skills you are developing, lessons you are learning, building a network etc.)