In 2009,  the world was a different place.              ^REFERRER          ^In 2009,  the year of your birth,  the top selling movie was <span onmousedown="openLink('http://www.google.com/cse?cx=001647362868805548177:vfrimzjecpq&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;sa=Search&amp;q=Avatar')" class="pseudoLink">Avatar</span>.              ^^The video game of the day was The Sims 3.              ^That was the world you were born into.     Since then,  you and others have changed it.              ^The Nobel prize for Literature that year went to Herta Müller.     The Nobel Peace prize went to Barack Obama.     The sensation this created was big.     But it didn't stop the planets from spinning,  on and on,  year by year.     Years in which you would grow bigger,  older,  smarter,  and,  if you were lucky,  sometimes wiser.     Years in which you also lost some things.     Possessions got misplaced.     Memories faded.     Friends parted ways.     The best friends,  you tried to hold on.     This is what counts in life,  isn't it?              ^The 2000s were indeed a special decade.     Globalization continues to influence the world. Islamist groups are on the rise. The European Union further integrates and expands in Europe. A global financial crisis occurs. The US leadership declares a "War on Terror". The Arab-Israeli conflict continues. The second Congo War takes place. Kosovo gains independence from Serbia. Google becomes the web's most visited site. Other sites on the rise include YouTube, Facebook and MySpace. VHS collections become replaced with DVD. Touchscreen mobile phones gain popularity. Microsoft releases operating system Windows XP. The Chinese launch their first manned space flight, Shenzhou 5. Climate change and global warming become household words, while the global temperature keeps growing. The best-selling album of the decade is the Beatles compilation album. Michael Jackson dies. The Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings films capture the imagination of audiences across the globe. Michael Schumacher wins five F1 World Championships before he retires. Taipei 101 becomes the tallest building in the world.          ^^^^Progress,  year after year.     Do you wonder where the world is heading towards?              ^^It's 2010.                  ^The world is a different place.                  ^What path have you taken?