As a young child, I looked forward to the day I was old enough to vote. It seemed like such a cool thing - to be a part of picking our next president.
Now, as I am finally 18, I have a more clear, educated insight on the voting process. Coincidentally, my becoming into adulthood fell in the same year as election year - a present I wish came with a gift receipt.
As the presidential race began it started with multiple candidates. I initially found myself in support of Bernie Sanders similar to many voters my age. I did not back Bernie out of peer pressure or by trying to follow a trend, but because I genuinely found most of his ideas and views seemed more sensible compared to other candidates. I was aware some things he mentioned like free college would not be possible, but nonetheless, I felt like he genuinely cared about people especially the college student population.
I voted in the primaries in hopes to get Sanders all the way to the end, but Sanders did not clinch the democratic nominee spot. Now we as a country have a choice to make, one I had been waiting to make for as long as I can remember, but am no longer sure I want to be a part of the voting population.
Our 2016 Presidential nominees are Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, which in my opinion are some of the worst options possible.
Trump has made various heinous comments, especially toward Mexicans. Frankly, I'm not sure how he made it this far in the race after making them. Why anyone would want a man like Donald Trump representing our country is beyond me. Now on the other end of the spectrum, Hillary Clinton who could very well be considered a criminal and is/was under a criminal investigation is not much better.
Now I'm not big on politics nor could I carry on in a political debate, but in my opinion on this election is about picking the lesser of two evils. Do we vote for the racist or the liar? As the election approaches, I am beginning to understand why many people don't vote. We are essentially screwed either way. The media which is often biased themselves and serves as no help in fairly showing us each side of both candidates.
So being a first-time voter, it makes me wonder, will all elections be like this? How on earth did we as a country let such terrible candidates get so far? One thing is for sure: our generation needs to make a change for ourselves and our future. Isn't the whole point of voting to find someone who will run our country and make the changes we deem necessary? Whether this election shows that or not, we must not let that discourage us from doing what we can to make the changes we need and voting for better options in the future.
