My “sentence” was from my 7th grade year in middle school until the middle of my freshman year of high school. This two-year period brought plenty of awkwardness, many inconveniences, and some pain but by the end of it, I was completely rehabilitated. Or at least my teeth were.

I am of course talking about braces.

Much gratitude to my parents for investing in the smiles of all three Reser kids. They shelled out the monthly payments so we could all wear braces and achieve straight smiles.

Of course at the time you never quite appreciate it. I remember pretty vividly getting my braces on and the several days of soreness that followed. I tried to keep a low profile when I wore them. Every single time I got my bands changed, I only got white. That lasted until the very last time I got them changed. I told my orthodontic hygienist that I wanted my usual but when she finished, she told me to go look in the mirror. After only getting white for two years, it was pretty wild what I saw: Christmas colors!

As you could probably guess, I followed the “rules” when it came to my braces. I didn’t eat popcorn, I very rarely drank soda, and I never entertained the preposterous idea of eating caramel.

Still, even though I took my braces seriously and did what was recommended by my orthodontist, it wasn’t always easy. As a lifelong battler of gum disease, having braces only irritated them more. Visits to the dentist were never fun when I had braces because of the special way they had to clean your teeth.

Despite all that, I persevered. Getting my braces off was one of the most liberating feelings in my life. The confidence I felt was pretty special.

Sadly, 23 years after I got my braces off, one of my bottom front teeth has shifted. So much for that perfectly straight smile. I never got a built-in retainer as my orthodontist gave me ones I could remove. I continued to wear my retainers at night through college but then ceased doing so. My teeth held straight for many years after that but in the past couple years I have experienced the shift. Oh well, it could be worse.

Even though my smile might not be perfect anymore, I am still grateful to my mom and dad for their investment. It at least paid off in the respect that my smile was attractive enough for someone to marry me. Don’t Blink.

Because I was a U.S. president-obsessed nerdy child, my geeky interest naturally translated to American currency as well. Presidents were on money so what wasn’t there to like? Oh yeah, the very practical use of money wasn’t lost on me either.

Thus, you probably aren’t surprised that I took a big interest to updates in currency. Introduction of state quarters, new faces on dollar coins, and anything dealing with $2 bills all caught my attention. Something else also greatly intrigued me…

On this date 29 years ago, the new $100 bills were made available to the American public. Not tweaked since the 1920s, the fresh notes that entered circulation on March 25, 1996, packed major change. The one-dimensional “Benjamin” received a major facelift as the portrait of the bill became much more detailed and larger. In 2013, Ben Franklin would outgrow his oval-shaped frame altogether, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves—I am just focused on the 1996 changes today.

Sloan holding one of the most current $100 bills.

Besides the portrait upgrade, the signature feature of the new bill was the prominent security feature—the watermark! Applied so retailers could hold it up to the light to view for authenticity, that was the very first thing my 10-year-old-self did when I first got my hands on a new $100 bill.

Checking for the watermark is also the first thing my 8-year-old does if she ever comes into contact with a $100 bill.

Which probably makes you wonder, how did I in fact find myself in possession of a C-note? Well, my grandpa never owned a debit card or credit card in his life. To put in Randy Moss terms, he was straight cash, homie. Because of this, he always had cash in his wallet…including big bills. My siblings and I thought he was a millionaire because he always had $100 bills in his wallet. Not only did he have them, but he also generously dispersed them. My first new $100 bill came from my grandpa and I treasured it…

…until my mom took it from me and put it in the bank.

It took more than 70 years for the $100 bill to be tweaked in 1996 but it only took less than 20 years for additional changes in 2013. In addition to even more prominence of Benjamin Franklin’s likeness on the bill, a mix of different colors were splattered across it. But again, that’s not the topic of today.

Are you old enough to remember when the new $100 bill debuted in 1996? Does your supermarket checker still make you feel like a thief by taking 30 seconds to closely inspect the $100 bill you hoped to pay your groceries with? Or, like me, do you just wish you had more of them (old version, 1996 version, or 2013 version be damned)? Don’t Blink.