As of the day, I began to write this Monday, Oct. 24, early voting has begun. Walking to my 10 a.m. class, I was accosted by signs and flyers all urging me to support one person or another. I'm totally fine with people campaigning, I encourage it, as long as they're talking about their plans and their views. I don't care if you have donuts or stickers or candy, I care about what you're going to do to make this city, this state, and this country a better place.
Much like my walk through the hub outside LBJ, whenever I log onto my Facebook I am bombarded with people sharing who they're voting for and why I should vote for their candidate. Now, don't get me wrong, I love politics. I love learning about politics, and I love arguing, however, I don't love doing all of that on a social media outlet. I use social media to keep in touch and to keep up with my family and friends; I do not use social media to get told that a person is a horrible being and that their opponent is the same if not worse.
This is my first time voting, and it sucks. I waited 18 years and learned all about the American government and voting system to only be able to vote in an election where I get to choose from the two most unpopular people in the country! It doesn't help that nearly every conversation I have with a person older than me always seems to end up becoming a lesson in why I should vote for whoever. Look, I think it's awesome that everyone cares so strongly about the outcomes of this election, I do too, but I don't care who you're voting for.
Your opinion is exactly that, YOUR opinion. As long as you can defend your opinion to yourself and feel good with your choice, that's great. You don't need to be telling everyone why they should share your opinions because no one on this planet will ever have the exact same opinions as someone else.
The sooner we can all understand that people have different opinions and that we should just accept those opinions and move on, the better this world will be. I wish both candidates the best of luck on election day this Tuesday, and I hope that we can have yet another peaceful handoff of power like we have had for the past 227 years.
