The Future as imagined by an 11 year old me.

Today, while rummaging through some old papers and artwork, I came across this incredible piece of work. According to the title and date it was written in May 2000. I was almost 12 and just a few months away from starting High School. Apparently I had to come up with my vision of the future, not sure how far in the future it’s supposed to be but regardless, it’s a thing of beauty. I can’t remember writing it but now I feel the need to share it with you all. It’s actually surprisingly similar to world-building worksheets we had to develop on my MA listing the different aspects of society that would be affected or changed depending on what the world was like. And so, we begin:

The Future, written on 15/05/2000 by Rhona Tennant

Transport – In the future, we will have flying cars with a self-recycling exhaust pipe so no fumes come out. (Can we say Hybrid cars or carbon capture technologies, anyone?) We won’t have buses; instead the cars will be able to join so that more people can sit.

Energy – I think that in the future we will use a lot more wind energy. (I type this, living in a house surrounded by wind farms) We will really live up to the phrase “Waste not, want not” by using as much as we can with the stuff we have.

Food – The food will organic or it will be Genetically Modified foods. (Can anyone say plant based “bleeding” meatless burgers?) We will just to put a plate/bowl under a gap, press a button and the food comes out.

Just as an aside, I was watching a lot of sci-fi T.V. back then – I mean, not much has changed but it may have tainted my view of the future somewhat.

Education – We will have virtual reality teachers and schools but we could have brain implants implanted at birth will all the knowledge we would need for the rest of our lives. (This is honestly one of my favourite ideas. That we could possible understand what knowledge we’d need for our entire life at birth!)

Housing – Because crop land is valuable we won’t want to damage the Earth by building; so houses and buildings will be in floating pods.

Communication – The communication will be so advanced that it will be voice activated control, so you could be linked to your computer on a head-set and just say “Hi mum” and it phones your mum. (Yea, we don’t have voice activated devices like Alexa or Siri.)

Entertainment – Instead of having a T.V. we will have things like the holodecks in Star Trek. (I wish….although we do have VR headsets.)

Weather – There will be more extreme weather on Earth due to global warming like even more heavy rain, snow, and sun. (Can anyone say current climate disaster?)

Recycle – Everything that can be recycled will be recycled because of how much stuff had been wasted in the past.

Water – Because water supplies have been polluted in the past, water processing; concentration and creation will play an important part.

Waste – Wasting something that could be recycled will become a criminal offense. (A bit harsh, perhaps.)

Medicines – We will have a cure for cancer but not for the common cold. Instead of injections we will just have to breathe in a gas with medicines in them. (This is happening too; and has been happening for years to treat asthma etc.)

Genetics – Genetically Modified people will wipe out lots of inherited diseases (The wonders of stem cell treatment and research! This might actually happen soon. Also genetically modified people? Can you say designer babies anyone?) If we have a mental handicap (For fuck’s sake, 11 year old Rhona, why the hell are you using those terms instead of, you know, something or maybe anything else???) at birth it will be fixed by computer.

I then go onto the start of a short story, which I’m not going to include but was written in epistolary format; showing that even back then this was one of my favourite literary devices.

But guys, I’m so in love with what I wrote. A young, somewhat naïve 11 year old thinking of what the world could be like. I even managed to come up with versions of technology and scientific theories that are here or coming soon. How cool is that?

So this was my writing, age 11 so I hope it’s safe to say I’ve gotten better over the year but who knows. February, when it finally arrives, is the jumping off point of rereading and editing Rosa’s story. Wish me luck!

See you in the future! ♥