You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without CD players.
In October 2012, Megan Garber wrote about the CD player turning 30 years old.
Around the time you were born, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space.
In July 2012, Megan Garber wrote about Ride's legacy, shortly after the later died.
You were born in June of 1983. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 4 times as old as you.
The year you were born, James Fallows wrote about the economic, demographic, and social effects of U.S. immigration.
Everett Collection
This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.
The Craft was released in 1996.
Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after the euro.
In December 2011, Jim Tankersley wrote about how the euro's failure could cause another American recession.
Around your 18th birthday, the world's first self-contained artificial heart was implanted in Robert Tools.
In October 2010, Alexis Madrigal wrote about the first ever artificial heart, used to keep a patient alive in 1969 until a donor heart was available.
Jason Redmond / AP
At 18 years old, you were part of the generation most shaped by 9/11.
The conflicts and displacements touched off around the world by the attacks have been reverberating for the majority of your life. “This ‘war’ [on terrorism] will never be over,” wrote James Fallows, a few years after the towers fell.
Mario Anzuoni / Reuters
In 2010, Aziz Ansari, who was born the same year as you, released his debut comedy album and stand-up special on Comedy Central.
In June 2010, Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote about how awesome Aziz Ansari is.
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
When you turned 27, you witnessed the revolutionary fervor that transformed the Arab world in 2010, a movement led by your generation.
When 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire, he ignited a tinderbox of protests that continue to roil the Middle East, and kindled the beginnings of democracy in Tunisia.
By the time you turn 51, NASA says it will send humans to explore Mars.
In August 2015, Alakananda Mookerjee wrote about what new Mars colonists would be able to eat—and how they'd grow it.
History is happening all around you, every day.
The Atlantic is here to help you process it, in stories like these:
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