Instead of a “Shhh!” my way, a ballot is now put into my view. Ever since I was a young child, I have been interested in politics. Yet I was taught to hate them by the adults around me. My parents were always supportive of me wanting to learn, but there was only so much they could teach me. After all, they are only citizens listening to the candidate's claims as well.

Politics was extremely controversial in school and If I tried to learn from adults outside of school, I was met with responses like “You’re too young” or “You’ll understand it when you can vote.” Well, I’m legal to vote now. I voted, but I still had no idea what I was doing or honestly what I was voting for.

In the voting booth, I had officially come to terms that with the fact that I was making a decision that will change the future of America, a country that has given me everything. “Every vote counts”, I whispered to myself. I had done my research on both candidates. I have been researching and researching. Yet that did not make up for all the knowledge I needed to make a decision for who I want as President Of The United States.

I had my mind made up on who I was going to vote for well before I was handed a ballot, but I still felt hopeless. I began to wish that they would have taught us more about politicians in school. I wish that we had learned about the issues that the Presidents discussed in their debates instead of learning about America as a whole, I wish that they taught us more about the political system.

I wish that the adults in my life would have let me in on the political conversation as a young child. I understand that I would not be able to comprehend a majority of their conversations at such a young age, but I do know for a fact that if they would have explained at least some of it to me, I would have more information as I got older. I would have more confidence in having the ability to vote for such an important position. I hear, read, and see what the candidates are professing to do, but there is so much more I wish that I knew. I wish I knew in depth how their plans would change America. Some say that I should have done more research. I could have. There is always more research and information to learned. But, It’s so much more than that.

I’m an American citizen, born and raised, yet in some areas I don’t feel like one. This is because I am incompetent to some of the greatest issues this country faces. Why is it that Presidential races are not focused on more in school? Why is it that these extremely important issues are not taught to the students of America, but we are required to learn long division? I have heard many first time voters say, “I’m just going to randomly pick one of them”. I have also heard “They both suck so I’m not voting.” I may not know much, but I do know that it is an American's civil duty to vote. No argument there. If both candidates are not fit to be President, I still believe that we must vote, for one of them will be President. Like President Obama recently said during a speech, “Don’t boo, vote!”

I worry about my generation's view on politics. We have become uninterested in politics because of the reception it was met with when we were younger. We were told it wasn’t our business, well now it is, and many of us don’t care. Times like these, I wish I had this information embedded in my brain at a young age and constantly throughout school. Let me make this extremely clear. My teachers in school were fantastic. It is not their fault we did not learn many things about politicians, it's the school systems.

I make this clear, I was not one of the first time voters who went in blindly and picked a random candidate. That is extremely dangerous. I did all the research I could for many months, and made a decision on which candidate would receive my vote. It has been days since I have voted, and I still do not like to think about it. I knew that walking out of the booth I would feel unsure over either decision, especially in the 2016 Presidential Race.

I do know that now that I’m older and have voted, I will be well informed come next election. I will be more understanding of the Presidential race, and how their proposals will change America for the better, or for the worse. Still, it rattles me that I voted, not knowing everything I needed to know. If I wouldn’t have voted due to my lack of knowledge, an adult would lecture me on how it is my civil duty.

It is my duty as an American citizen, and that is why I voted. I can only pray that such an important part of American history will be treated with more seriousness and generosity to the younger generations and that they will be more informed come their time to vote.