As we approach the end of the 10’s era, I find myself reminiscing on everything that has happened since 2010 began. Although I was alive for the majority of the 2000s, it isn’t really the same when a majority of your memories are watching Dora and retold stories from your family. 

At the beginning of this era, I was six years old. At six, I was in first grade learning how to add and subtract, read and write. At the end of the era, I’m sixteen. I’ve mastered all of these skills and moved forward to dividing polynomials and writing five-page essays with a formal tone and MLA citation. The 10s era held by childhood and many formative memories that I could never dream of replacing. Although I’m looking forward to the next decade, looking back at the past decade and feeling nostalgic is expected at the change. 

Overall, the 10s era will always be the era that defined who I am. I grew up in the times of the Sandy Hook Massacre and the Internet, with Blues Clues and lunchables. Over the most formative years of my life, I experienced the first truly digital generation, the aftermath of 9/11, the beginning of the change for gun control, and the movement to stop climate change. This era has changed the course of my life as well as the course of the world, politically and environmentally; I have the 10’s era to credit with who I am today.