You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without the computer mouse.
In May 2014, Alexis C. Madrigal wrote about the resilience of the computer mouse.
You were born in July of 1969. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 3 times as old as you.
The year you were born, James Alan McPherson wrote about how a group of black Chicago street gangs evolved into the controversial "Ranger Nation," funded by the Poverty Program, investigated by the Senate, and hunted by the police.
Around the time you were born, the manned spacecraft Apollo 11 landed on the moon's surface.
In July 2012, Alexis C. Madrigal published a retrospective photo essay on the Apollo 11 moon landing.
John Springer Collection / Corbis via Getty
This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High was released in 1982.
Around your 18th birthday, Taiwan ended the practice of martial law after 38 years.
On February 6, 2013, Minami Funakoshi wrote that China's "re-education camps" are profitable sources of labor.
Patrick Hertzog / AFP / Getty Images
At 20 years old, you saw the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
“It was thought that all borders between men had similarly disintegrated, and we were all destined to be free and empowered individuals in a global meeting place,” wrote Robert Kaplan 20 years later.
Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after texting.
In August 2011, Jamie Holmes wrote about how SMS is the driving force behind technology-enabled changes in commerce, crime, political participation, and governing in the developing world.
Mario Anzuoni / Reuters
In 1999, Jennifer Lopez, who was born the same year as you, released her first album, On the 6.
In August 2016, Adrienne LaFrance wrote about how Lopez helped shape internet searching.
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
When you turned 41, you saw the rise of the Arab Spring.
People across the world rediscovered the power and peril of revolutions, as Laura Kasinof found in Yemen.
By the time you turn 62, the collective GDP of the four leading developing countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) is likely to match that of today's leading Western nations.
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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