This upcoming election is going to be the first one where I get to vote. Like many people my age, I am still learning how to get proper information on each candidate in order to make an informed decision on who should get the candidacy and possibly the position of President. This will be the first election where I'm paying close attention and I am already fed up with this election.
One of the major things I've noticed since campaigning has begun is that there is a new level of separation amongst the American people. If you're not for one side, then you're against America. No matter who you support, you're wrong. Now, I don't tell people who I'm voting for. I don't see this mentality stopping after one of the candidates wins the election and that scares me.
This election also shows how big of a role the media is. The more candidates are talked about in the media, the more popular they tend to be. There's a saying, "No press is bad press," and this is especially true in elections. It doesn't matter what people are saying. It just matters that they're talking about you and not the other candidates. Eventually, the other candidates get forgotten about and you have the party's nominee spot in the bag.
It is obvious the whole world is watching this election. From where they are, it seems the election is going to come down to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. During spring break, I was able to go to Ireland and one of the questions I was asked a lot was, "So what do you think about Trump?". We were told to avoid political questions, so I responded, "well, what do you think about Trump?" The people of Ireland were not too fond of the possibility of Trump being the next President. However, they didn't seem to happy with the idea of Clinton being the President either. Whomever does become our next President, their job will be a lot more difficult if foreign countries don't like them.
Even if you think your vote doesn't matter, it does. Remember to go out and vote on November 8. No matter who wins the election the world will be paying close attention to what America does next. Don't mess it up.
