Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Election Day

It’s my first time voting, and my goodness! What an election to take part in. I will admit to not have paid much attention to past elections in my lifetime, but it was always made a fact that each election was bound to bring change. Good or bad, everyone will have their own opinions, but change always comes.

Schools are always trying to get students ready for when it is our time to vote. The first election in my lifetime that I can remember was 2004 between George W. Bush and John F. Kerry. I was in the second grade, and we were asked to vote for who we thought should be president. I voted for George W. Bush for two reasons:

1. My friends were voting for him.

2. I had no idea who John F. Kerry was.

I look back at that election and I laugh because I had no idea what I was voting for and only voted because of lack of knowledge. Of course, I was only in second grade, so it’s not like my vote really mattered. At the time I really thought I was doing the real thing. I never knew better.

Fast forward to fourth grade and though there was no election to focus on, I had realized that I loved the idea of being president. I still didn’t know much about politics, but I thought being the commander and chief of the United States of America was pretty cool. We were asked to make a kite of things we wanted, and at the top of the list was me saying I wanted to be the first female president. It was a goal I found worth working toward.

2008 was a big year for the elections. The now President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain were head to head in what would become US history with President Obama becoming the first African American president America has ever had. I was in 6th grade and remember how incredible I found that moment. It was a day where I feel America moved forward. It also pushed my dreams of becoming the first female president. I could do it. I knew I could. I wanted to make history.

2012 was a different year. President Barack Obama was running for his second term. I’ll be quick with this one. He won, obviously. However, what I can remember with this was the amount of people who were not okay with this. The debates in school of why he should not have had a second term were endless, and I did my best to avoid them because the election was over and our high school opinions didn’t really matter. I still thought about how I wanted to make history as the first female president, but that dream was becoming more of a thought and less of a promise.

Now here we are, 2016. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are in the running and this election season has been rather overwhelming. I have watched various people come together, declaring their votes so that Clinton could be president even with the email scandal. At the same time, I have watched as people came forward and declared their votes to Trump even with the sexual assault accusations. I watched people consider third parties, but they tend to walk away from that as quickly as they started. I have watched each debate and the way these candidates have presented themselves. I have watched President Obama come forward to urge people to vote for Clinton. I have watched people scramble to explain why someone should vote for this candidate or why someone should not vote for the other. I’ve watched discussions end up in a heated argument both in person and online because other opinions don’t matter when we think we’re right.

I’m watching people choose not to vote because they feel they have no choice now. I am watching people choose one over the other because they feel they have no choice. I have been going through this election feeling like I have no choice because I could not favor one candidate over the other. I have considered not voting because my vote is no difference than the vote I made in 2nd grade.

I know who I’m voting for.

I know who I will vote for, but I want to make it clear that my vote is not being made because I feel like I have no choice. I have considered each candidate, and though I don’t agree with everything, that never happens, I have chosen a candidate whose agenda will hopefully help my life.

I hope you’re doing the same. I hope that when you vote, you are voting because that candidate is what’s best for you. I hope you aren’t voting for someone because everyone around you is voting for that. I hope you did your research and aren’t voting on ignorance because what good does that do for you? Maybe I won’t make history on my own, but I’d rather know what history I’m apart of than not know what’s happening at all.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016