18 things to do this year, according to a 1998 issue of YM

18 things you gotta do before you’re 18 (via my 2003 scrapbook), is a pretty solid guide to making the most of life, pimples or otherwise. Learning self defence (#15) so that you can effectively guard your Marcy Playground CD from your brother? Timeless advice!

I turned 13 in 1998, so I must have kept this list close for the five years that followed on the way to 18 in April 2003. There are check marks on almost every suggestion, which I guess means I slayed it (minus any bullet point relating to dating, since I was single for my entire teen life wah wah). I can absolutely recall doing the at-home spa day (#6) with my BFFAE Lori, concocting masks out of oatmeal packets that immediately came running down our faces.