For those who turned 18 in the run-up to the Good Friday Agreement referendum, their first vote would be a crucial one that would define Northern Ireland's future.
Nearly a million people here headed to polling stations on May 22, 1998, to cast their verdict on the peace deal.
While for many it was just another trip to the ballot box, for Northern Ireland's first-time voters it was a hugely significant day that would shape their entire future.
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For Roisin Shanks (nee Dooher) from Ballymagorry in Co Tyrone, the vote was equally memorable as it took place on what was her 18th birthday.
Today, Roisin, 42, lives with Lurgan with her husband Neal and two children Nessa and Ronan and works in finance.
She told Belfast Live: "I was fairly clued in to what was happening at the time as I was doing my A-levels. I was a student at the Convent Grammar in Strabane (which later amalgamated with Holy Cross College) and we were quite protected from the Troubles, even though we knew what was going on.
"At that time we all had aspirations to go to university in Belfast and to think that we were starting this monumental new phase of our lives with peace on the horizon made it all very positive.
"I didn't have an exam on the day of the vote so I was quite excited when the date was announced. I couldn't wait to be an adult and be able to do things like that.
"I read the Agreement cover to cover when it came out and I can still picture myself doing that while sitting on my bed where I was studying for my A-levels."
The mum-of-two added: "I remember registering to vote as soon as practically possible as I knew that the referendum was going to take place on my 18th birthday.
"It felt like a milestone for me because when your birthday is in May it's generally around exam time. I was studying Irish history so I was aware about the constitution and the changes it would make.
"The Northern Ireland Office sent first-time voters a video telling what was happening. You felt that you were part of a special group and that someone was actually taking the time to instruct you to vote.
"I thought at the time that everyone who was important was putting their weight behind the Agreement."
Over two decades later, Roisin recalls that historic day on May 22 very clearly when she voted in favour of the Agreement, something she says she would do again "without question".
"I remember going to the polling station early with my parents before they went to work. It was held in a primary school in the village of Artigarvan next to us," she recalled.
"I felt a bit underwhelmed at first as it was a bit of an outpost of a polling station where you would just go in and make your mark with a pencil.
"There was no queue either or any protests outside. I also had a strange sense of disappointment because it was a very blunt pencil that I had to use to cast my vote.
"As an 18-year-old looking to a new future who wouldn't have voted for the chance to live in a peaceful and stable place. I never thought that the Agreement wouldn't be accepted, because at the time it just made sense.
"The eyes of the world were all on us and we knew we were on the cusp of something new and exciting as well as full of hope about what was to come."
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