El Dorado, Kan. - For about 15 members of the El Dorado High School class of 2008, Thursday offered a glimpse into the past. On April 17, 2001, students in Patti Cost and Nancy Peterie’s fifth grade classes at Skelly Elementary sealed a box with trinkets, photos and memorabilia to be opened shortly before graduating from El Dorado High School. Now, seven years later and with graduation less than a month away, those students took a trip down memory lane as they surveyed those items and reminisced about what they were like at 11 years old. “Omigod, I liked purple even back then. I was a freak,” said Melissa Keith as she was handed her capsule packet. “No girls liked me,” Shallum Washington read from his packet. “I just remember playing Oregon Trail,” said Bailey Brush. “You guys were all going to be pro football or basketball players,” Peterie said after the boys read their once-future plans to her. Peterie and Cost quizzed the kids on their future plans as they sifted through the capsule’s contents and ate pizza. “They all have set good goals for themselves,” Cost said. “A lot of them are going to college. They’re a lot more mature.” “It’s really nice to hear their plans for the future and to see that they’re being successful,” Peterie said. Cost said she’d gotten the idea when her son filled one out during his freshman year of high school and thought it might be even more fun to see how fifth graders developed over seven years. “I think they’re getting a kick out of it,” Cost said. “I told them when they put things in, to think about it – ‘You’re going to be seniors when you take it back out.’ I think they’re really surprised.” This is the last of two time capsule projects the teachers collaborated on before Cost transferred to the third grade. “It’s fun to see how they’ve changed,” Cost said. “A lot of them wore glasses and got contacts.” “They still have a closeness,” Peterie said. “They’ve been out and spread their wings and gone to middle school and high school, but if you watch them, they’re still really special to each other.” Over the years, though, some have grown apart from others. “This is the first time I’ve sat down with some of these people since fifth grade,” Keith said. “It’s like nothing’s changed. It’s like we can all still talk. Everyone’s bringing back memories and rehashing old stories.” Speaking of old stories, giggles weren’t suppressed as Cost recounted one tale of a mishap which occurred during an innocent outdoor game of Red Rover. Cost had called Peterie to make a run for her class’s side and two of the boys broke the line and Peterie crashed face-first, ending up with a mouthful of grass and her glasses askew. “I couldn’t stop laughing,” Cost said. “The kids were mortified,” Peterie said. “How many times do you see your teacher going down, you know?” Still, Keith appreciates the walk through her younger days. “It’s really weird,” Keith said. “I think it’s a really good idea and I think everyone should do it to remember the child that you were and maybe even use that child to grow into a better person.” Rebholz was surprised by what she found in her time capsule. Although she wanted to be a masseuse, that is no longer the case. She’s looking to attend Wichita Area Technical College in the fall to become a surgical technician. She says some of the kids from the fifth grade class have drifted apart over the years. “I haven’t really talked to anyone since then. I’ve just seen them around school. Looking back at all the pictures, it’s just really different.” Keith enjoyed getting back with her old friends. “Everyone looks different, but it’s more than that – everyone’s grown up and they have more realistic outlooks on life.” The most surprising thing Keith found? That she and most of her classmates hadn’t reached their five-year goals set in 2001. “But my best friend in fourth grade is still my best friend.” Brush jokes his hair has gotten much longer since fifth grade. But most importantly, perhaps, “I’ve gotten over my crush on Abby [Sutton, his classmate]. I’m not as dorky as I used to be.”