9/11 is the main historical event that I remember actually experiencing in my lifetime. I was in 7th grade, and I heard the first reports on the radio as I rode to school with my mom and cousin. I heard more in 1st period Band class from my teacher, and my mom picked me up from school a few classes later. I spent the rest of the day reading, watching, and listening to all the media reports, gradually realizing the dire significance of it all.

One other event that came to mind was when John Glenn became the oldest person to go into space. It was in 1998, which fits, because I remember I was in 4th grade. I recall that my mom told me about him in the morning, before I went to school, then our teacher either told us about it or showed us it on TV, and I was so proud that I'd already known about it.