Dear Millennials,

This year is your year to make a difference and to lay the groundwork for the future of politics. But the only way to do that is to get out and vote. I know that this year our choices aren't great. They're not great at all, but please, please do not let that discourage you. Because we are the future, and we outnumber the baby boomers by a landslide. The future of America is ours, so why don't we start shaping the future we want?

Consider this-- rather than voting based on something as arbitrary as a party title, why not consider what issues you find important? Pick any issue--climate change and environmental policy, human rights, women's rights, immigration, sexual assault and gender-based violence, college tuition and loans, anything. Pick a topic, and then begin to research each candidate's platform. Who do you agree with the most? Why note vote for a candidate based on these ideals?

This election, more than any before has turned into entertainment, reality television. I think that this aspect of it, more than anything has led to the apathy that has plagued our generation. But if we don't speak up, if we don't vote, how will anything change? Before you decide not to hit the polls this election day, please think about the message your apathy and what your inactivity in politics conveys to everyone in power.

-A politically active Millennial