I believe everyone should vote. As Americans, we have the hard-earned privilege of choosing our leaders.

I remember the excitement I felt as a child—I clung to my mother’s jacket as she entered the voting booth and flipped the monstrous lever to cast her vote. It seemed so important—all the businessmen in their suits lined up outside the fire hall, the mothers and their children, the elderly couple holding hands—all waiting for their chance to make history. The stickers proclaimed: "I voted!"

As I grew older, I began to take an interest in the country I was a citizen of and the things I would someday vote for. I couldn’t wait until I was 18 and would get to join the line of voters outside the local fire hall. Now that I can finally be a part of that club, I will participate in all the opportunities provided to me.

However, I've noticed that very few people seemed to be as excited about voting as I am. I listened to the talking in the hall, the discussions after class, the seemingly arrogant statements. I’m not going to vote. It doesn’t matter if I do. I don’t know anything about government.

I was confused. Did no one care that we had the opportunity to help our country?

Many of us feel like our votes do not count, but they do. The way I look at it, if we don’t speak up and vote or work toward the changes we want, we cannot, in good conscience, complain if choices are made that we don’t agree with.

Our votes send a message. Voting is our chance to tell our leaders what we want for our country.

So, maybe we all aren’t political experts—that’s fine. We can learn as much as we can, ask questions, debate with our peers, find the facts, look at things from someone else's shoes and decide how we feel. This is America, OK, anything is possible.

We all have passions and ideas. Among other things, I am very passionate about gender equality and poverty alleviation. I look at potential candidates with those issues in mind. Maybe you want someone who will take significant action against climate change. Someone who will provide fair (or free) college tuition. Those candidates exist, and you can vote for them!

We should not be afraid to tell the world what we think. Sometimes it is easier to hear one shout than a chorus of confusion. Even though we are surrounded by our families, friends, and relentless media updates, we must listen and decide what we believe and what we don’t.

So how do we vote and make our voices heard? I'll make it easy for you.

I live and go to school in Pennsylvania, so some of these steps are specific to my state. However, if you follow these general guidelines, you can easily find the information for your home state.

Pennsylvania's primary is April 26th. If you are not registered to vote, you must do so by March 28th to be eligible for the primary. You must also register with a party affiliation because Pennsylvania has a closed primary system. You can do that here.

If you are a student who will not be able to go home to vote, you should apply for an absentee ballot. If you are a resident of Pennsylvania, you can do that here. If you are not a resident of Pennsylvania, you can Google "absentee ballot (state)" and you should be able to find that information.

If you will be in your home county in Pennsylvania on election day, you can find your polling place here. If you do not live in Pennsylvania, you can simply Google “find my polling place” and you should be able to find that information.