A little over a year ago, I turned 18and was exposed to an entirely new world. A world where I no longer needed a parent/guardian to sign my various consent forms, and I was able to get tattoos and piercings on my own free will. These things, among others, seemed to stand out to me the most. Yet, when anyone turns 18, the first thing many say to them is, “Congratulations! You are now able to vote!” Perhaps one of the reasons individuals are so adamant about announcing this news is because it presents the newly turned 18-year-old with a true sense of freedom. They are now able to have a say in what they believe the country they are a citizen of should look like and how it should operate. But what if the fresh-out-of-the-gate teen doesn’t want to vote? Just because they are legal, it doesn’t mean they have an obligation to write the name of someone they hardly know on a ballot, does it?

With the current election consuming a large amount of the media’s attention, it seems like the perfect time to write about whether or not the words “eligible” and “responsible” go hand-in-hand when it comes to voting. As -- not only a 19-year-old who is eligible to vote -- but also as a woman, I have struggled to figure out my own place in the voting world. I’ll be honest: I have no interest in voting when I know little-to-no information about the candidates. Sure, I know that Hilary Clinton is a Democrat and Donald Trump is a Republican, but other than that I’m not so sure that I am qualified to assess whether or not either one of them is fit to run the country. While I may understand the ideals and values that Republicans and Democrats hold, there is a difference between understanding basic concepts and feeling confident that those concepts will be met throughout the individual’s time in office.

In 2004, the film "Iron Jawed Angels" was released. For those of you who have not seen or heard of the film, I’ll provide the IMBD description: “Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.” Essentially, the film is about women earning the right to vote. I had never seen, nor heard of this film until the words, “Honestly, I don’t have any interest in voting” left my mouth and my mother replied with, “You need to see the movie "Iron Jawed Angels," and then we will revisit that comment.” Of course for someone who was born in 1996, women having the right to vote doesn’t seem all that strange to me. Still, for someone like my mom, who was born just 40 years after women officially earned the right to vote, the concept hits closer to home. Although I understood (and still do understand) where she was coming from, I found it difficult to convince myself that voting was the right decision for me -- legal or not, woman or not. If I am not interested in politics, and I don’t feel that I have enough information on the candidates running, why should I toss a vote somewhere? One vote can make all the difference, and to make a blind decision based on my family or friends beliefs seems to defy the purpose of voting in the first place.

Some of you may be reading this and think I am completely ignorant. Well, that’s OK. It’s perfectly fine with me if you think that because I don’t have any interest in voting I am ignorant and unappreciative of the fight women put up so many years ago to earn women everywhere they right to vote. I must say, you would be wrong to think that, but I am not going to stop you. I feel extremely fortunate to be a part of a country and culture in which women have as many rights as they do. It is astounding to me that, even in this day and age, elsewhere in the world; women look at us and think “If I was a part of America’s culture, at least I could do/have/be…” Nevertheless, the gratitude that I feel towards my country should not influence me to vote just because I am of age. I want what every other American wants -- the best for our country. I want to be a part of a society where we can be proud to say our country is being run by (insert president’s name here). What I do not want is to say that I voted, and when people ask why I voted for that person, for me to say my family voted for him/her, or my friends told me that was the right move to make.

I am an eligible voter, but I am not registered to vote. Do I plan on getting registered at some point in my life? Absolutely. But I will make that decision when politics become a more prominent part of my life, and I feel as though I can make a clear-minded decision and select an individual who will positively influence our country. Maybe that will come in a year, maybe it will come in five years, but for now, I do not feel like just because I am able to vote, I should be forced into a voting booth to make a decision that I believe would be extremely uninformed.

With that, I leave you with one final thought:

Don’t allow yourself to succumb to the pressure and hype around voting. If you are interested in politics, and consider yourself someone who is well-informed about the election, absolutely do it! But do not let, “You’re eligible to vote but you’re not voting?” become a stigma. After all, just one uninformed vote may tip the scale from four years of success in our country to four years of conflict.