What to write in a yearbook: 50+ message ideas for friends, classmates and everyone in between

The yearbook is in your hands, you have a pen, and the page in front of you is blank. Writing "It was great knowing you, good luck in life" is easy, but everyone in the class will write exactly that. Whoever opens this page ten years from now will be looking for something of you: your voice, your humour, a moment you really shared.

This guide gives you a simple way to write, then example messages for different situations. You do not have to copy any of them. They are starting points, so read a few and turn one into a sentence of your own.

Beating the blank page: a three-step message

Almost every good yearbook message has the same skeleton. You fill in the sentences.

1. Address the person. Write their name or nickname. That one move turns a message for "everyone" into a message for them.
2. Pick one memory or quality. Instead of listing three, tell one. The more detail, the more real it feels.
3. End with a wish or a small promise. A wish for the future, or something light like "we will meet again".

Here is that skeleton in action:

Ella, thank you for saving me a seat on the morning bus every single day. When it was empty, I realised how much it meant. I hope there is always someone saving you a seat at your new school.

Now let us look at different situations. Jump to the heading closest to your friendship.

What to write to a best friend

You are allowed to write more here, but you do not have to. What matters is choosing something you both really lived.

Squeezing all these years onto one page is almost funny. I will try anyway: I am so glad we were in the same class, and so glad you were next to me.

I will never forget how you sat down next to me on my worst days and just waited, without saying anything. I wanted you to know that.

Thank you for every night we left the homework until the last minute and said "we will figure it out". We did, in the end.

On the first day of middle school neither of us knew anyone. Now I am writing to you on this page. So much has changed, but you have not. Please stay exactly like this.

We are going to different high schools, but let us still meet every Saturday, okay? I wrote it down and signed it, so it is officially binding.

You always said "you can do it". You believed in me before I did. Thank you.

The snacks, the laughing fits and the gossip at break... without you, school would have just been a building.

When you open this page years from now, remember me. I will remember you too, including your very first haircut.

What to write to your desk mate or seat buddy

A desk mate is the strangest friendship in the class: you sit side by side for hours, yet sometimes you hardly talk. Small shared things (an eraser, the window, the squeak of the chalk) work really well here.

We shared a desk for years, an eraser, and a few secrets. I am not asking for the eraser back.

We both got the maths question wrong while trying to help each other. It was perfect. You are still the best desk mate I could have asked for.

Thank you for always letting me have the window seat. In return I gave you my best class notes, so we are even.

Every time we giggled quietly and the teacher looked over with "what is going on there?", those moments belong in this yearbook.

Our desks may be separated now, but this page keeps us side by side. One day we will sit down with our old notebooks and laugh about it.

The rule that whoever arrived first saved the other a seat was the one I trusted most. I hope someone saves your seat in your next class too.

I never got bored sitting next to you, which is a big achievement. Thank you, desk neighbour.

What to write to someone you barely talk to

You do not have to be equally close to everyone in the class, but you are still expected to sign their yearbook. The safest and nicest way is one small, true observation. "We were so close" would be a lie, while "I noticed you" is honest and warm.

We did not talk much, but I noticed that you quietly helped everyone in class. I wanted to tell you that.

Your pencil case was always open to everyone, and you lent me a pen once. I have not forgotten. Good luck at your new school.

I wish I had got to know you sooner. The answers you gave in class were always thoughtful. I hope your future is bright.

It is a little strange to share a classroom and not talk enough. Still, I was glad to be in the same class as you.

When you were team captain in PE, I saw how you included everybody in the game. Stay like that.

Your laugh was the best sound in our classroom. I am glad you were with us.

If we ever bump into each other after school, the coffee is on me. Here is a hello for all the conversations we never had.

Funny yearbook messages

The rule for funny messages is simple: never put anyone down, and make the joke about yourself or something the two of you share. The reader should laugh, and everyone else reading should not think "wait, what does that mean?"

We graduated, but I still owe the canteen for that toastie. I will pay it back eventually, with no interest.

I have so much to write to you and my pen is running out of ink. So, short version: you are a legend.

The most important thing I learned from you: homework left to the last minute is still homework.

One day I am going to turn your voice notes in the class chat into an album and release it. I am not asking permission.

While waiting for you at the bus stop I thought about the meaning of life. Conclusion: being five minutes late is your art form.

Writing in a yearbook is harder than an exam. If there were an answer key, I would write "so glad you exist" and you would write "you too".

I am proud to have witnessed you winning the title of loudest laugh in the class. I will testify.

When we open this book in five years, my first question will be what on earth I was thinking with that haircut in the photo. Be ready.

Emotional yearbook messages

When you write something heartfelt, resist the urge to go over the top. The messages that touch people most say something big in one plain sentence. Instead of "the best years of my life", hold on to something small and true.

Half of my time at this school was you. Wherever we end up, something will always feel missing without you.

When I was going through a hard time, nobody asked what was going on, but you did. I will never forget that.

Growing up is a little scary, but knowing I have friends like you makes it easier.

If you are reading this years from now, know that I still think about you. Wherever you are, I hope you are happy.

I liked you on the first day and I like you now. Both versions of you are great.

I could tell you things I could not tell anyone else. I understand now how valuable that was.

Thank you. I am keeping this short, because if I write more this page will get wet.

Short and sweet yearbook messages

Sometimes there is hardly any room on the page, and sometimes saying less is simply right. Short is not bad, it just means every word has to carry weight.

So glad you were my classmate.

Keep smiling. It suits you.

Do not forget me. I will not forget you.

May your road be open and your steps steady.

You were the cheeriest voice in the class. You will be missed.

Good luck at your new school. Keep in touch.

It was good with you.

You are a good person. Never doubt it.

Look after yourself until we meet again.

For a friend who is changing schools or moving away

Graduation does not mean "the end" for everyone, and some friends are heading somewhere far away. When you write to someone like that, combine two things: the gap they leave in the class, and the chance of seeing each other again.

The class will be a little quieter without you, but we are still in the group chat. If anything is missing in your new city, you will be the first person I message.

At your new school there is a locker, a desk and maybe a friend waiting for you. Introduce yourself the way you introduced yourself to us and everyone will love you.

Let us all get together one day this summer, and I will come to your city too. I wrote my promise in the yearbook, so you cannot get out of it.

Turning a generic line into a personal one

If you have written something that sounds cold, add a single detail. The two examples below carry the same wish, and the difference is the detail.

Good luck in life, I will never forget you.

I will never forget the day we dropped the test tube in the science lab and you laughed so hard. Whoever you are with in life, you will find something to laugh about, I am sure of it.

The second is only a sentence or two longer, but which one would the reader remember for years? Ask yourself: "Could I write this exact line to somebody else?" If the answer is yes, add one more detail.

You are writing to a classmate, not sending a love letter

A yearbook is like the most widely read diary in the world: your classmates, your teachers, your family and, years later, you will all read it. If you like someone, it is better to tell them directly than to hint in the yearbook. A flirty message on a shared page can make the other person uncomfortable in front of everyone.

There is a good, safe line: you can be warm without putting anyone on the spot.

Talking to you was always easy. I wanted to say that. I am glad I met you.

You brought so much cheer into our class with your smile. Walk into your new place with that same light.

I will always remember you as someone I respected. Best wishes, always.

Keep lines like "write to me", "I will miss you so much, my love" or "there is something I want to talk to you about" out of the yearbook. What you write affects the person you are writing to and everyone else who reads the page.

What not to write

A yearbook is printed, stored and passed from hand to hand for years. So keep these in mind:

• Personal details. Phone numbers, home addresses, social media passwords, or "we always hang out at this place" do not belong in a yearbook. If you want to meet, tell your friend directly. In Kepyil, messages that contain personal information such as phone numbers are caught by the automatic checks before they appear.
• Hurtful jokes. Jokes about looks, weight, family or failure stay on that page for years, even if you find them funny. "I was only joking" does not work after printing.
• Inside jokes nobody else will get. Most of the people who read the book were not there. If you can explain the joke in one sentence, write it. If explaining ruins it, keep it for a private message.
• Gossip about other people. If you name a third person and write something about them, remember that they may read that page one day too.

If you write something unkind, it is not only the other person who is hurt. Years later you will see that sentence in your own book.

A quick checklist before you write

• If you are writing on paper, draft it on a scrap first. A yearbook does not accept an eraser.
• Write their name. A message with no recipient starts out cold.
• Read it out loud. If it sounds fake to you, it will sound fake to them.
• Do not copy the same line for everybody. Anyone who sees the same message on neighbouring pages will notice.
• Even if you are not close, find something good. Everyone has a good side.

If your class yearbook is being made digitally, the idea is usually that every student writes a message to every classmate. That is how Kepyil, the app built for students and classes, works: everyone writes to each classmate, and messages are checked before they appear. Teachers can see who has received only a few messages and ask classmates to write to them, so nobody is left with an empty page. So when your turn comes you do not need to worry that nobody will write if you do not, though your message still matters a lot. You can read how the checks and consents work on the safety page.

If you would like to add some fun to the book, our article on class superlatives ideas covers categories your class can vote on. For writing to your teacher, there is yearbook messages for teachers. And if you are wondering how the whole book comes together, how to make a graduation yearbook walks you through it step by step.

One last note: do not wait for the perfect sentence. An honest, slightly imperfect line is far better than staring at the page for half an hour and writing nothing. When a friend finds your message in their yearbook, that is enough for them to keep that page for years.