You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without The Simpsons.
In February 2012, Hampton Stevens wrote about what The Simpsons had left to say after airing its 500th episode.
You were born in December of 1988. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 5 times as old as you.
The year you were born, Arianna Huffington wrote about the life and legacy of artist Pablo Picasso.
Around the time you were born, George H.W. Bush was elected the 41st president of the United States.
In July 2014, Shirley Li wrote about George W. Bush's upcoming biography of his father, George H.W. Bush.
Everett Collection
This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.
Donnie Darko was released in 2001.
Jason Redmond / AP
At 12 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 American Idol.
In May 2015, Spencer Kornhaber wrote about how the show changed the music industry over time.
Around your 18th birthday, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake was felt throughout the Greek islands and Mediterranean Sea.
On April 21, 2014, John Metcalfe of The Atlantic Cities provided a geologic map of earthquakes across the world since 1900.
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
When you turned 22, 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.
Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters
In 2016, Stephen Curry, who was born the same year as you, was named the first unanimous MVP in NBA history before leading the Golden State Warriors to the finals for the second year in a row.
In February 2016, Robert O'Connell wrote about why the NBA loves and fears Curry.
By the time you turn 46, 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:
Tell your story.
