20 years ago is an impossible time and more than half our lives ago. The world is drastically different, but that was nothing new to us as our class began our high school careers with the world changing:

• It’s no understatement to say that we experienced one of the biggest shifts in the world our first week as high schoolers when 9/11 took place.

• Cell phones weren’t uncommon for us whereas they would have been just a few years prior.

• We lived through the start of the Iraq War and the end of Friends.

• We enjoyed the Blazers being one of the best teams in the NBA and still getting walled out by the Lakers.

• We were present when back-to-back-to-back classics launched in 2001 with Grand Theft Auto III in October, Halo in November, and Super Smash Bros. Melee in December.

• The first Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies hit theaters in late 2001, ushering in a new era of blockbusters (Shrek came out in May of 2001, so we won’t count that).

• Beyoncé was still just part of Destiny’s Child, whom you could hear on the newly released iPod device from Apple.

Our four years at Century weren’t easy, no sugar-coating it. But we made it through and have a story to tell, each and every one of us. From sporting events to plays, debate tournaments to art exhibits, pep rallies to whatever the smart kids did with math, we were busy and left our mark on the school. And while we still had to graduate in Liberty’s gym, we made our opinions KNOWN.

So let’s gather together, remember the fun of our youth, and talk about our youth to come. We can’t wait to find out what we’ll all be when we finally grow up!