You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without Harry Potter.
In November 2010, Alyssa Rosenberg wrote about why it was so difficult for readers who grew up reading the series to say goodbye to Harry Potter.
You were born in August of 1998. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 7 times as old as you.
The year you were born, Edward G. Shirley wrote about how internal politics and a corrosive culture compromised the effectiveness of the CIA—and why reform might be impossible.
Around the time you were born, the United States retaliated against al-Qaeda for an earlier bombing on U.S. embassies.
On March 19, 2012, Conor Friedersdorf wrote about the various foreign military actions of the United States in the 1990s.
Jason Redmond / AP
At 3 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.
Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after iPhones.
In November 2016, Bianca Bosker described how a former Google product philosopher was working to redefine the relationship between consumers and technologies like the iPhone.
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
When you turned 12, 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.
Eric McCandless / Disney
This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.
A.N.T. Farm premiered in 2012.
Matt Sayles / Invision /AP
In 2012, Amandla Stenberg, who was born the same year as you, played the role of Rue in The Hunger Games.
In October 2015, Jenni Avins wrote about the dos and don'ts of cultural appropriation, referencing a video made by Stenberg.
Around your 18th birthday, Turkish Armed Forces and Syrian rebels took Jarabulus from ISIS.
In August 2016, J. Weston Phippen wrote about Turkey's attempt to recapture a city from ISIS.
By the time you turn 51, China is predicted to be the world's largest economy.
In February 2012, Charles A. Kupchan wrote about the world's emerging economies, and how the world will look by 2050.
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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