While this is my first ever presidential election, I have voted before in others, including at least one other "off" year election. I can honestly say that one of the things that made voting for the first time interesting was that I personally don't really identify myself with either party completely.
Part of the reason may be that I don't really have enough of what they call life experience yet to really be a part of either party, but I think it's more because I feel that many of my core values could fall on either side.
I'm also what many would consider a millennial, and therefore, some would say, have the least amount of eligible voters actually vote. In the 2016 election, according to NPR, "millennials continue to have the lowest voter turnout of any age group" which is honestly not great, especially considering that we are all at (or coming to) a point in our lives where these things will start to matter more.
I mean what comes to mind when someone mentions that they are a millennial, for some, it's the stereotypical lazy, poorly prepared person, who is without any type of aspirations.
Another thing I noticed about my generation is that it seems to be one that is more liberal than some of the older generation, of course, this could also be due to other factors, such as the environment and our access to things miles away via technology. Many of us also grew up in a much different society and climate than those before us.
I did my voting through an absentee ballot (yes, I am very aware of how some people may feel about this and honestly, I don't really get it). I went about voting this way due to the fact that I am a college student and will be out of the county I'm registered to vote in, during the actual voting period. Even with that difference, the experience was still just as interesting.
That being said, while I was unable to have the full experience that comes with voting, specifically actually going to a place, standing in line, getting that "I voted" sticker, etc., I still was able to vote. For me, that is more important now than it might have been, even four years ago.
All that to say, your vote does matter.
