In the past, I’ve never been huge on partaking in discussions about politics or sharing my opinions with my peers. Honestly I have always thought, "oh I don’t really know very much" or "I’m too young for my opinions to really matter." But I have come to realize that I’m now 20 years old, and my opinions do matter, they always have, and they are justified. In America, we believe in equality. Someone could study trees for a living or they could be a political analyst - either way each citizen's vote is just as valid as the next, no matter their age, race, or occupation. So though I am young, I do have a voice, we all have a voice and that is why I am interning for John McCain’s 2016 campaign.

Recently myself, along with many other young adults from Arizona have received the opportunity to intern for John McCain’s 2016 Senatorial Campaign. Before I applied for the position, I took it upon myself to study up on John McCain’s policies and views on issues that are important to me. I wanted to make sure that I was educated before I announced myself as an advocate for McCain and joined his campaign team. I made the decision to join the campaign to help him get back into office because I believe that he has a strong voice in the Senate and he does the best he can to make the right decisions for Arizona. As I have worked on the McCain campaign, my job is to be a face for the voters to recognize McCain, I am responsible for listening to people when they express there concerns about Senator McCain and I am told to always relay that feedback to the managers so they can find out what McCain is doing to address those problems, and if McCain has a conflicting opinion. They share why McCain believes differently and I am able to relay that to the people I speak with. I have also had the opportunity to meet with McCain numerous times, he has graciously reached out to the interns to let us know that our work is appreciated. Being a member of this campaign has opened my eyes to a lot of things. I will not deny that while in college it can be very easy to get lost in your own world. It can be hard to watch the news and stay up to date with the changes going on outside of school. Since I have joined the campaign, I have begun turning on the news and watching debates, because it is vital that we know what is going on and who is fighting for our beliefs throughout the three branches of government. I have had a great experience being a member of this campaign, and I continue to learn and be inspired by my peers.

My point in saying all of this is I want everyone who is my age to know that our opinions matter. They should not be discredited because we are young adults, and most likely haven’t studied politics for some 35 years. We each have values, beliefs, and concerns when it comes to what is going on in our state as well as our country - all we have to do is get out there and make our opinions heard. Politics, though very competitive and extremely controversial, were not meant to tear us apart, but to allow decisions to be made that best represent the majority of our nations beliefs. The only way that is going to happen is if we decide to be bold and make ourselves heard. I am young, I am a Republican, and I am voting for John McCain for U.S. Senate. I strongly encourage you to vote for who you believe best represents you and make your voice heard.