(sorry to get this thread back active after two years!)
I'd totally agree, AE shaped and molded who I am today and the many conversations I've been able to have with people on the length and breadth of this forum has surely played an instrumental role growing up. Even though I spent most of my 12-15 year old time on this site, the feeling of coming back everyday after school and running airlines and alliances added so much value to my childhood.
While I try to come back now every time I remember this site exists, it's much more difficult to do anything substantial than just have a nosey on what's changed around here or read some old thread I started, and laugh on the awful sentence structure (obviously!). Anyways, I hope everyone else is doing fine (at college or work or whatever you do!) and I hope the next generations of AE, certainly enjoy their time on here.