I was born in 1996, but I don't remember much about the nineties. Sure, I was around during "Dawson's Creek", the Tickle-Me-Elmo craze and the Y2K scare, but all of those events were distant memories in my mind. It might be great being a nineties kid, but in my opinion, growing up in the 2000s is even better.

First of all, lots of cool inventions came from the 2000s. iPods replaced clunky CD players, making it easier to jam out to music in the comfort of your room. Cell phones like the Motorola Razr were very lightweight and came in various colors. And speaking of cell phones and iPods, combining the two together (along with 1.5 million apps) into the iPhone became one of the greatest inventions of all time.

Music and television in the 2000s was also entertaining. What *NSYNC was in 2000 became what One Direction is now. The Britney Spears-Christina Aguilera rivalry was heating up, and the "Lady Marmalade" music video was (and still is) as amazing and girl power-filled as "Bad Blood". Childhood shows like "That's So Raven" and "Drake and Josh" were great, and seeing Miley Cyrus with long, brown hair rather than short, blonde hair (or dreads, for that matter) was even better.

And growing up as a 2000s sports fan probably meant you remember Tom Brady with three Super Bowl rings before his thirtieth birthday. The Yankees and Lakers started and finished the decade by winning the World Series and NBA Finals, respectively. Eli Manning turned into a national hero in 2008 by beating Brady and the then-undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII (and again four years later). And LeBron James' transformation from a high school basketball star to a modern-day Michael Jordan took place all in one decade.

There were many awesome moments of the 2000s, but there were many tragic events as well. I was five years old during 9/11 and just started fourth grade when Hurricane Katrina hit. I didn't realize how short and precious life was at the time, but I do now, and I thank God for it every day. In the end, it's great to be a 2000s kid.