You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without the Disney Channel.
In July 2015, James Parker wrote about the insidious messages tweens pick up from the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.
You were born in August of 1984. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 4 times as old as you.
The year you were born, Benjamin Spock wrote about why schools should emphasize active learning and empathy for students.
Around the time you were born, Carl Lewis won his fourth track-and-field gold medal in the Summer Olympics.
In August 2012, Robinson Meyer looked at the differences between athletic records set by men and women.
Everett Collection
This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.
I Know What You Did Last Summer was released in 1997.
Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after the International Space Station.
In our January/February 2015 issue, Charles Fishman wrote about the oddity of daily life on the station and the value of its continued operation.
Jason Redmond / AP
At 17 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.
Around your 18th birthday, the second Earth Summit, an international gathering to discuss sustainable development, began in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In June 2012, Olga Belogolova wrote about Congress and the 20th anniversary of the first Earth Summit.
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
When you turned 26, 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.
Lori Shepler / AP
In 2016, LeBron James, who was born the same year as you, led his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA championship. He had previously won two championships with the Miami Heat.
In December 2015, Robert O'Connell wrote about why the Cleveland Cavaliers need LeBron James.
By the time you turn 45, humanity's water requirements will exceed its supplies by 40 percent.
In May 2012, Stewart M. Patrick wrote about the Intelligence Community's report on global water scarcity, and the plan to combat 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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