Amanda in 1996 / Amanda in 2013. Photos: Radio Diaries and David Gilkey/NPR

Right now I am staring at an old open reel. I saved it from the days when some of us made radio with razor blades and splicing tape. On the reel, there are two pieces of masking tape. One says “Teenage Diary,” the other “Amanda Elements.”

This reel is an artifact from a long time ago. But I’ve been carrying it around with me for the past week…as a reminder.

Amanda was the first teen diarist I ever worked with (and the last before the world went digital). Now, more than 16 years later, Amanda is back on NPR as part of our Teenage Diaries Revisited series.

Listen to Amanda’s new story on npr.org.

Thanks for listening,

Joe