Who knew $15 stuffed animals with secret codes attached to them would come to define every childhood in the early 2000s? Webkinz were the beginning of our Internet addictions before Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram existed. With every stuffed animal, you could type in a secret code to adopt your pet in the virtual wonderland we all know as Webkinz World. If you were addicted to Webkinz like I was, you'll understand all of these things.

1. You needed to spin the Wheel of Wow every day.

Nothing was better than winning 500 KinzCash.

2. The Crown of Wonder was very hard to get, but it didn't stop you from mining for gems every day with the dog version of Ron Swanson.

You'd not only visit the Curio Shop to find gems, but also to buy rare items.

3. Your goal in life was to get a high score on one of your favorite games so your pet's picture could be shown to all of Webkinz World.

4. Even if you may not have been the best at some of the games, you couldn't stop playing Cash Cow, Polar Plunge, and all of the Zingoz games.

5. Speaking of Zingoz, you still wonder what exactly a Zingoz is. And how in the world people thought up these characters.

There was Wacky Zingoz, Zacky Zingoz, Zangoz, etc. The list went on.

6. You took room decorating too seriously and learned how to be terrible at spending money.

You could be on HGTV for your masterpieces.

7. Your rooms were especially cool if you had some exclusive items in them, which you won from the Wish Factory.

8. Every time you walked into Limited Too or Hallmark, you had to beg your parents to buy you another Webkinz.

You needed that extra 2000 KinzCash and the Pet Specific item.

9. You'd either give your pets "creative" names or you'd name them after your friends from elementary school who you haven't talked to in 10 years.

10. If you spelled your pet's name wrong, it would haunt you forever.

11. Some of the best pets were hard to find, like the Cheeky Dog and Cheeky Cat, which sell for an obscene amount of money on eBay. But that didn't stop you from wanting them.

12. You looked forward to holidays not only because you would receive Webkinz as gifts, but also because you'd get holiday gift packages online.

If you were lucky, you'd get a rare holiday exclusive pet.

13. There was nothing more satisfying than opening gift boxes on Webkinz World. Especially if it was one of the gold ones that contained a "Super bed."

You still remember hearing the cheering sounds whenever you opened a box.

14. Your social life consisted of playing games in the Tournament Arena whenever you heard the "yoo-hoo" sound on your virtual cell phone, which meant one of your friends was online.

You were the coolest kid in your friend group if you had the most Webkinz (or if your parents let you use KinzChat Plus).

15. You'd play with Webkinz Trading Cards with your friends, but you secretly only liked them because you hoped your pack of cards would have a secret code in it.

16. You don't want to admit to yourself how much money you could have saved if you didn't buy so many Webkinz.

#noregrets