WHAT DO YOU THINK LIFE WOULD BE LIKE IN THE 21ST CENTURY?

These essays were written by third-graders in the spring of '99.

Alma Schrader

Alicia Dawn Herzog

In the 21st century the things will be different than now 1999, 20th century. There will be a grandmother clock instead of a grandfather clock.

And they will come up with a new brand of clothes and shoes. There will be new stores and old stores will be knocked down. And doctors will come up with a cure for illness. That is the 21st century.

Adam Steele

I think schools will change money, pollution, cars, people will explore space. Shoes will change. Prices for things, fish, trees, flags, houses will change. Metal will get stronger and use less resources.

Stevie Probst

In the 21st century, the lives of everybody will be different. Families, money, school, cures, pollution, and space will be different.

Families will be together longer. More parents will not get divorced and putting their kid or kids up for adoption. They will stop abandoning children. Then families will be better.

Money will also be different. They will put more money's worth in dollars. They will have $5 dollar bills and $25, $30, $35, $40, and so on.

And school will be different. There will be no more shootings. And you will stay in school longer. You start at the same time but you end later in the early summer.

Cures will be invented. The medicines will cure the disease. Then nobody will be sick.

Pollution will stop. Transportation that needs gas will be powered by thousands of batteries. Then places everywhere will be clean.

Space will be changed. Things on Mars and the moon will grow to be more like Earth. Then people could live on another planet. That is what I think will happen in the future.

John Sakarelos

I think in the 21st century it will be different. The thing that we have now like computers, might be smaller than the computers we have now and they might be better.

I think that people, animals and bugs will not change, because you cannot change them.

Alleigh White

This is what I think life will be like in the 21st century. There will be no more shooting people! There will be more buses and no factories so there won't be as much pollution. When people do crimes there will be stricter punishments. There will be cures for all diseases. More people will have jobs. Houses will be bigger and they won't cost as much money and other things won't cost as much money either. Computers will be used in almost every job. I think that kids will still do the same things for fun and school will be the same.

As much as I said I think will happen, I just want all the good things to stay the same and all the bad things to change.

James Thompson

I think there will be electric cars, less pollution, less poaching, stricter laws, safer schools, cures for diseases, new types of transportation, different and new types of computers, machines, robots, medicines, and buildings and alarms.

I think that restaurants, foods, videos, shoes, clothes, and money will be the same.

Jack

Families must change, maybe moms will stay at home. Schools wil change. Maybe there will be new cures for AIDS and surgery. Money might change too. Houses might look different too.

Restaurants will change. Foods will maybe taste different. There may be shaped soap. Then cars will be a cool style.

Zach

I think there will be electric cars and less pollution. New toys and games and different kinds of money. There would be more trees and plants. There would be more jobs. There would be alarms for houses.

Grant Butler

The technology will be different like computers. The computers might be different shape or it might hold a lot more information. I think that a lot of things will be the same like homes. They will stay the same because there's not another way to make a home.

Marcus Robinson

There will be robots that do everything for you. Then there will be computers that will control cars.

Then there will be roads that can be moved in different ways by computers. Then there will be tractors that are run by computers.

Tara Pickens

This is what I think it will be like. The trees and houses will be the same and food will be the same and so will feelings. And most of all love.

I think school will be different. The kids will use computers to do all the work. Cars, money and space will be fun. Books will come up on TV shows. Games, stuffed animals, will talk to you. It would be a different place to live in.

Jessie Tufts

The designs of cars, money, TVs, schools, houses and games will be different. New medicines will be found. New restaurants will come. I would like smoking to stop forever.

Some things might be the same like water won't have a flavor. Or Beanie Babies will be the same. I hope we don't cut down anymore trees or at least plant a new one for every tree that gets cut down.

Erin Gerlach

This is what I think life will be like in the 21st century. I think houses might be a lot different. They might have electronic doors that open when you press a button. And I hope doctors will have a cure for cancer and AIDS. And I really hope the school shootings will stop, and I hope no more wars.

Cars might have to be charged at night but that will be a good thing because that means less pollution. And schools might be a lot different, let's say, whenever one of your teachers say, "Take out your text book," you might pull out a laptop. But we will never know these things until the 21st century.

Sarah Keller

There will be many different changes in the future. Schools will have more electronic things such as computers only used for assignments. And robots will be teachers. And restaurants will have robots to cook and serve people.

The phones will only be microchips that you hold in your hand. Games will be bigger and better. There will be better things that will cut down pollution. Jobs will be different. Robots will do everything but people will still get money. Money will be a little different from the designs. Houses will have more computers. Houses will have bigger television sets. And in the future there will be more inventions.

Alex Shell

In the 21st century there will still be the same restaurants. And there will be generators in houses. No more killing and no more guns. And schools will be bigger. And cars will fly. And parks will not be polluted. And no more throwing trash on the ground. And jets will be bigger so more people can fit in it.

Jeff Lents

In the 21st century, I think they will come out with a cure for AIDS. And I think there will be less pollution because there might be electric cars.

There might be the same schools. But the teachers will be robots. And I think that there's going to be a medicine to bring people back to life. And the world will be a better place.

Katie Brewer

I think cars will fly. And planes will go everywhere on ground. I think when you play board games, the game will float in the air and you will have to stand.

And I think one dollar bills will be worth $1,000. But everything else will stay the same.

Juneall Lane

I think we will have the same good things, money, food, and restaurants. But I think there will be a lot of difference like cars may fly, there will be a cure for cancer.

The shooting at schools will stop. And there will be so many jobs for everyone.

Joshua Potts

I think what will be different will be computers. They will be as small as watches. Houses will be built on the moon, and cars will fly. Houses on earth will have generators. Scientists will find cures for all diseases, and batteries will last forever.

The things that will probably be the same will be trees, food, people, bugs and animals. And I hope that God and my church will be the same.

Kristen Walker

What I think will be the same about the 21st century is the clocks. If they changed clocks, people might not know how to tell time with them. And people will have to learn how to tell time all over again.

What I think will be different about the 21st century is the cars, houses, the way schools look, stores, clothes, shoes, money, toys, pencils, pens, desks at school, and chairs. Pollution will be different because people keep on inventing polluting things. And that is what I think will be the same and what will be different in the century.

Kaeli Kimes

In the year 2100, the lives of people will be very different. Families, schools, games, cars, space and jobs will all take part in the new century.

Families will be different. Parents will have to work only four days a week. One day your dad will work and the next day your mom will work.

At school, every way you could get into the school building, there would be a metal detector, so that we can stop crimes at schools. Also in the 6th grade, you would be in a small class so that if there was someone doing bad things, we could catch them.

For transportation, there would be an invention that would catch auto pollution and turn it into oxygen. Cars will run on solar power. They will make a law that you have to be 20 to drive by yourself.

People will live on Mars and travel there on a rocket. There will be water and very little food to eat there.

Amity Downing

I think the school's punishment will stay the same. The food is better. Money should stay the same so you don't get it mixed up with the old money. Jobs are fine the way they are. Because some people can find jobs really quick.

The pollution is way too high! I think by the 21st century the pollution will be down. I also think that the schools will be more protected from all the shooting that has been going on. People will probably recycle even more so we can save some things. Maybe there will be a car that causes less pollution in the 21st century. And also, astronauts might find life on another planet out in space.

Alan Schrader

Along in the future the planet earth was very different. There was the car, houses, days of the week, months, and computers. People liked it but one kid did not. So he made it stop and one day the kid knew he needed this. So he left them alone.

Joseph Uhls

What I think life will be like in the 21st century is, I think you will have school at home, the teacher will be a computer. We will be able to go further in space.

Cars will be more safe, prices will be higher, money will be easier to get, there will be a lot of robots.

Ethan Schrock

We will probably have space stations. And everybody will live in space.

Angel Gaither

What I think life will be like in the 21st century is a lot of space stuff. We'll make cars that can float around, so if we want to go to the store we can just float drive. We will have a wheel to drive. We'll have computers that have no support in the back and screen. We'll have radios tat play the same music like today. Our gravity will be a little thin. Like, if you run, jump, skip or lose, you float for 28 seconds and 2 hours. Two pencils are going to do the work for us. Our math, language, or social studies, it will show the answer. If my teacher wants to take down things, it's going to come down automatically off. We'll have telephones that we can see the person.

Kaitlyn Spalding

I think instead of gas in cars, people would go to the station and hook a battery up to their car and would last up to about 15 days.

There would be a computer on every desk at school. And in our math, spelling, and language books there would a few answers. Stuff would be a lot more expensive.

Well that's my story about how I think life will be in the 21st century. I hope you enjoyed it.

Kara Wilson

There is a lot of things I think will happen. I think the computer experts will fix the programs and we won't have any worries about the things run by computers. We will be able to control our computers with our eyes. I think we will have robots doing things we do. We will have electric cars and cures for a lot of diseases. And I think we will even have more things to see and do, like under water museums and space station trips. And I think robots would be able to drive and have a license.

Isaiah Ianniello

I think that there will be cars that run by electricity, the prices on things will raise, there will be electric stations instead of gas ones. I think that we will use robots a lot more, there will be wireless Nintendo controllers and I think that life in the 21st century will be a lot funner than now but there will be one problem. A lot of those things run by electricity will be using more energy than now.

I think that there will be more smoke than now. I hope that we will come up with an idea how to not use as much smoke as we do now to make electricity so there won't be as much pollution as now.

Charlotte Schaffner

There are good things and bad that go around in my head about the 21st century.

The bad things are more animals will be endangered. I also think more trees, land, and nature trails will be used up. And if trees are cut down that means not as much fresh air or oxygen for us to breathe.

The good things I think are that cars will be thinner to go faster. There will be more cures for harmful diseases. More people will be able to cook in their homes because of advanced technology. Because of advanced technology, kids will learn more at school.

Audrey Dickett

I think we will live on a space station. All the people who don't want to can live on earth. We can eat all the candy we want to. The aliens like candy too so you have to share. The aliens like to play with you. Their favorite game is space tag. The people down on earth don't get to play with the aliens or float in space. Space tag is when you float in the air and play tag. If you want something you get if right away. It's such a cool place.

So have a nice day in space. Feed the aliens good food.

Suzanne Burke

Things will be improved and we will have better technology. Every thing can be recycled. We will have books but they will be on a computer.

People can live up in space and there will be a big dome around the moon. It will be filled with oxygen so we can breathe. A big city with lots of people in the dome.

Chris Clay

I think about half of the world will be in space. They will have a lot of space shuttles in every city. The USA will have a few more states. There will also be hospitals on the space station and people will have electric houses.

Sarah Hopkins

I think we will have cars that can fly and computers will be so different from today. I also hope that all the toys were $5 total and most of all I wish people would stop doing drugs. I know most people will believe anything you say but I hope in the 21st century people don't hear and see most everything.

Matt Holmes

It will have more powerful computers, more robots doing more stuff, maybe a cure for cancer. Cars that can fly, better airplanes. Man made galaxy, more cars that has a TV, make an identical person from your DNA.

Space crafts having enough power to go to Pluto and clearer photos.

Nick Allen

I think there will cars that can hover over the road powered by solar energy. I also think everybody should have a computer, and at school, you will have a fan on your desk and in the winter you put it in reverse and it will keep you warm.

I think everybody should have their own personal water craft. I think teachers should be very strict but the principal should be nice.

David Berry

I think that there will be a space station, there also will probably be a lot of pollution in the cities. There will be a computer and TV in every house. And there will be a lot of electric things that fly. I also think there will be a computer lab in every school. Everyone should have their own water craft. Everyone would have everything they needed. And the doctors would have the right kinds of medicines for people.

Trisha Copeland

I think that everything will be electronic. There will be robots and different planets that people could live on. There will be no cars. There will be rocket ships and jets.

There will be no school. But some kids could have a computer for a teacher. People would have pets from other planets. Every one will wear robot clothes. There will be new sports. There will be different TVs and no one will get sick and everyone could do what they want to do.

Caitlyn Cowley

I think we will have a computer at everyone's desk so at free time we can do research and play games. I also think all cars over $180 would get a thing where it can tell you how to get to the place where you need to go. And we will have strange suits. And instead of going on a road, you drive underground.

Anthony Watts

I think there would be a space station. Computers might change. Cars would be changed too. Someone will beat Mike's record. There might be a water station. And a different president. Someone will beat Mark McGwire.

Bryan Maclean

I think I will have my own jet. We will have a boat or jet ski instead of a car. You can swim in the street.

What do you think about this? There will be lots of people there. I like to swim. It cools you down if it's really hot.

Hikeem Shaw

I think in the 21st century cars will float to get around and people will have one eye or over 16 eyes and have laser guns and acid guns.

D.J. Kirk

I think that there will be cars that can go 2,000 miles per hour.

I think there will be aliens on earth.

I think we will get food from pills and we will not have to diet.

I think there will be solarized computers and everything will be run by them.

Jackson South Elementary

Blaine Davis

I think in the 21st century people could fly and they would have telopods. If they had telopods, they could hop in the telepod and type where they want to go and they would disappear and go there.

I also think that people would invent light speed ships. I think they would be able to fly to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto, and other planets! There would be weird planet homes. Maybe one of the planets would be made of jello and chocolate ice cream.

Kelsey Bohnert

In the 21st century I think there would be people living under the water and in outer space. There would be automatic books, beds, chairs, toys and houses that clean up after themselves, throw parties for you and help you with your homework. Our food would be different too. It would come from automatic machines, all you would have to do was push buttons and the food would come out. When you went to bed all you would have to do was think it and your cover would come over you and the lights would go off. When you went somewhere you would just go there. When you were in school and you wanted to go where you were talking, you would just flip a switch and be there! We might go to the center of the earth!

Michael Carbaugh

In the 21st century there might be cars that hover or people will be living longer and people might have hover boots. Some people might live in space or on other planets and galaxies. Someone might invent a machine that can dig to the other side of the world. The pencils might be metal. The American Flag might have more stars and stripes. There might be machines that you just have to push a button and your food pops up. And there might be automatic sidewalks and things like that. Some people might have equipment to live on the moon and they might make Star Wars real and might have surfboards that have jet packs in the back of them. They might have the falcon, X wing outrider, A wing, speeder and the other ships.

Ashley Grimes

I think the 21st century would be like you could live on the moon. Or other planets like Mars or Jupiter. Even though I don't think you can and besides you would not be able to eat. But if they build a store up there you might be able to eat food. I also think in the 21st century I will be a doctor or a nurse. Because I want to be able to know about all of the body parts of a person.

Seth Gregory

I think in the 21st century there would be cars that fly with a machine that you type in the place you want to go and you wouldn't drive. There would be a bottle of food that you put on a plate and put in the microwave and there would be real food.

The houses would float in the air and you could live anywhere. You could live under water. You could live in outer space. I will be a singer in the 21st century.

Derek

In the 21st century there might be five stars added on the flag and maybe there will be remote control backpacks and there might be robots to do your homework and school work.

Zach Kreifels

I think life in the 21st century would be like living in space. There would be jet motorcycles. There will be aluminum houses. There will be robots. There will be jet cars. There will be a dome you could play in. There will be a way to go to the center of the earth. There will be faster airplanes. There will be new cars. There will be cars that can go under water.

Jeanette Mouser

In the 21st century it would be like telephones when you call "telephone," they will come to you. Everybody would be rich so it would be fair to the poor. There would be cool trucks and cars like flying cars and trucks. No sharks or just dull teeth so they won't hurt you. No wars or mean people. When you snap your fingers, music will come on and if you snap again it will come off. New laws and safer laws. When you need books at school, they will come out.

New food and flavors of ice cream. New planets. New kinds of clocks and alarms. New colors. Nice houses. Built-in pool. NO dangerous guns. New months. Another language. Ride in limos to school. New subjects. New kind of paper. School room in a circle. Shoes that would know what you are thinking. New presidents. New names. New states and countries. Big, big pencils. Everybody is your friend.

Steven Tanner

I think life in the 21st century will be different because they could make a millennium pizza and a Curtis Sturms millennium drink.

And they would make a 900 store building, new air jet shoes and a new animal called a Purple Tom Bear. And a president named Seth Gregory.

Laura Lusk

I think in the 21st century there would be flying cars. There might be life in space. There are going to be different cars than we have now! People might be living under the sea. Robots might be organizing everything. We might be able to dig to the center of the earth. There might be a lady president. The styles might change.

Lindsey Hartle

I think life in the 21st century would be like, I will travel around the world with my sister. My sister and I would be put in the Guinness Book of World Records. My sister and I will be in the Guinness Book of World Records because we are the best volleyball players in the world. Every time we are outside practicing volleyball we never touch the ball because we are always signing autographs.

Somehow we never mess up. We always get gold medals and only once got a bronze medal. Our cars are a Viper, a limo and a Mustang. We live in Hawaii. We also play volleyball on a trampoline. It would be fun being famous. Kaylee Edmonds is my cousin and we live together.

Curtis Sturms

I think life in the 21st centueyr will be the schools will be funner every day. First you do all your subjects, then you could do subject 1 is you could go outside until 3:00 and another one is a water gun fight and a drive a flyer and then turn around inside out, eat and watch TV or watch the Ghost of Elves or read or you can play tag inside or ride bikes inside. All things I said were inside. So far these things I want.

I think the cars would fly and you could drive when you were 12 but 9, 10, 11 year olds had jet packs to fly and the best drink was the millennium. It was very good, the best food was millennium bugs. It was good, really good.

Brooke Taylor

I think the 21st century would be like ... there are people that could live in space. Maybe everyone would have a beard. Even the ladies. Maybe houses would be triangular or round. Maybe people could celebrate their birthday ten times a year. Maybe there would be one extra day of the year. Maybe nobody in the whole world could ever get sick again. Maybe people would be born with wings and everyone could fly like a bird. Maybe everyone would be rich and live in a mansion. Maybe everybody would get home schooled. I would like that!

I hope all of that really does happen in the 21st century. That would be cool!

Jennifer

I think life in the 21st century would be like no more schools in Cape or Jackson.

There would even be flying buses and cars and there might not be space ships or homes.

Antonio Garritano

In the 21st century it will be cool. We might have jet motor skate boards. And if you put on your shoes they tie automatically. And cars will fly maybe. People might live under water or in space. We might have computerized chairs. We might be able to go back to the past. We will have a time planet thing that if you type where you want to go and you will disappear and be there. We might have a jet speeder 2000. Our motor bikes can fly. And big, big space ships that you can travel and go to Saturn, Pluto or Mars and other planets. Or maybe can invent someting to go to the center of the earth.

Olivia Meyer

I think in the 21st century we would have round cars and we might have grape ice cream. They might have colored plastic clothes. And we might have a different kind of shoe brand. And they might have a machine to go to the center of the earth. In the 21st century I will probably be a singer.

They might have aluminum shoes. And somebody will probably break a record. And they might make a new Titanic. And they might make a new spice. Somebody might make up a new band. They might come up with a new tree. And I might get a new cousin.

Kaylee Edmonds

I think that we would have plastic clothes. I would be a teacher. We would have nobody do drugs or smoke because nobody wants to have heart disease. I would like flying cars and no school and have a humongous pool party, lots of parties. Robots would clean your house. Then you could have remote control cars and drive when you're nine years old. We could have flying houses. I would have the sweetest children. I would have four children. And a wonderful husband. Then we would have to name our children, Brittany, Lindsey, Chris, and Whitney.

Also I would have wonderful students. I would have the coolest clothes and have so much money that the poor won't be poor. They would have the coolest clothes in the whole world. I would have Lindsey Hartle as my cousin.

Elizabeth Fry

I think life in the 21st centuery would be like ...

Robots would clean your house for you. And have cool clothes. And drive when you're 10 years old with a remote control. And when you think of something you would go there where you're thinking of.

And there would be cool shoes. People could fly. And different schools. And people would ride turkeys instead of horses.

Thomas Stoops

In the 21st Century we will have flying cars. They will look like shoes. The bottom of the sheos are jet powered to take you up in the air. They're the color red.

There are going to be 100,000 flying cars in space and 9,000,000 on earth. They will have a computer in them, a sunroof. They will go up to 150 miles an hour. They will have a playgound in them.

Jacob Macke

In the 21st century thre will be automatic book bags so kids won't have to carry book bags. In the 21th century there will be gold mansions and everyone will drive limos. In the 21st century, there will be people that can live to be 1,000 years old. In the 21st century there will be Christmas once a month. In the 21st century there will be no school!!

In the 21st century, your birthday will be once a day. In the 21st century there will be 1,000,000,000,000,000 dollar bills. In the 21st century there is no more dresses. In the 21st century there is more koolaid. In the 21st century kids will rule the world.

Laura Fielder

In the 21st century I think the cars will fly and so will the backpacks.

So that when you have to go to school all you have to do is put on your backpack, and it will pick you up and fly you to school in no time at all. It would be so, so, so fun! I can't wait to see if I'm right.

About the cars, well when someone is on a honeymoon, they can fly up to the clouds and have a romantic evening. You could also race the birds! Oh, how cool that could be! I wonder if it could really happen. Hmmm.

Spencer Wika

In the 21st century there will be airplanes for cars. It would be so cool because when there is traffic you can fly over them and shoes that make you fly up. It would be so cool because you could fly to school and everything would be free. Then I could get a motorcycle.

Kevin Cronenbold

Have you ever thought of what might happen in the year 2000? Well I have, and I wonder what will happen! I think we will find life on another planet, and they will help us get better stuff.

I also think there will be really fast airplanes that go faster than the speed of light, and you can get around the world in five seconds, and can carry one thousand people.

Brittany Feeney

I wonder what's going to happen??? I think there's a tiny computer, like a calculator that can take you anywhere you want to go. Like if you would want to go to space you just type space. Then you would be there. You could go to Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus and everything else.

Angeil

Maybe in the 21st century there will probably be cars that might fly. There might be some motorcycles that will fly. There will be book bags that will fly that can take you to school. there will be some planes that will stay on the ground.

Brandon

In the 21st century there will be guns at the gun show. It will be a lot bigger. And maybe that deer hunting will be often. And you can use that gun more often.

And maybe some snakes could die so it would not be dangerous. So people won't die much. I would like that.

Pick one.

Andrea Penzel

I think life in the 21st century would be fun. It would have little cars people sit in and control from the inside. People will wear elegant plastic clothes and shoes. My family and I will live in a big house. My parents will live with me.

People will drive hovering cars. Others will be getting and moving at age 10. Others will fly with jet packs. People will live in space! That's what I think.

Adam Armes

I think life in the 21st century you will be able to live in Six Flags. Or live in a place within a 10-minute drive to Texas from America. Or get a five-day weekend. They will have two hours of school.

You will use calculators. Every day would be your birthday. Without subjects for a present. Mr. Freeze would go 2,000 miles an hour. The water slide will ramp you 1,592 feet in the air and fire alarms that spray out water so we won't have to have firemen.