I’ll be the first one to admit that the presidential elections have never really been of much interest to me. Quite honestly, politics give me a headache. And as much as I hate to say it, even when I was first able to register to vote (which was a few years ago), I didn’t pay much attention to what was going on within our country, let alone with the different candidates.

I just didn’t care, nor did I know enough regarding the subject to form opinions about it. I watched the news only at dinnertime, believed things I saw and read briefly, and went about my day. I had different priorities that consumed the majority of my time, and I never truly made an effort to notice any of the political events transpiring around me. Likewise, I had the mindset that made me believe that my vote was insignificant. What could my one vote do? Would it really make that much of a difference? I’m ashamed of that fact, and it wasn’t until just recently that I realized what was wrong with that mindset. Did I honestly believe that I didn’t think I had a say in the matter?

Well, unfortunately, yes. And what’s worse is that I’m almost positive that’s how a lot of today’s teenagers, young adults, Generation Y, or whatever you wish to call us, feel or felt at one time. It’s awful, and there’s no excuse for it. How could it come to this? Let’s take a moment to think about this. If one person (let’s say me, for example) believes that their vote will not make a difference and we multiply that times the number of people that feel the same way, we have a real problem on our hands. Those votes can make or break an election, and I don’t think people realize that.

With a family member currently involved in politics, I now fully understand how much a single vote can mean for a candidate, an entire political party, and, more importantly, the future for an entire country. If today’s teenagers continue to be ignorant and uninformed about these issues, we will not have much to look forward to when we get older. If we paid half as much attention to governmental issues as we do to professional sports or what some celebrity is doing, it might be a different story. However, the fact of the matter is that we don’t, and that’s something that needs to be fixed immediately. How can we expect to be the future of the country and understand world news if we can’t even focus on it now? It’s impossible if it continues like this, but I urge everyone to change his or her ways now to prevent this from happening.

We all know that Donald Trump (along with all of his idiotic antics) is attempting to run for president. I see it everywhere I go. But what I also notice is how dimwitted he truly is, especially when compared to one of the other candidates. For example, I saw a meme recently that compared Trump’s speeches, for lack of a better word, to the paper of a student who was trying on a book he or she had not read, which couldn’t be more true. They're both full of inconsistencies and roundabout answers, and, overall, lack sufficient information to prove he understands what’s going on. Then, let’s compare that to someone like Bernie Sanders, who is well established in politics, well versed and informed in his field, and truly fights and will continue to fight to better the United States. I’m not trying to sway anyone’s political opinions here, but come on, who do you honestly believe deserves and would be best suited for presidency if you had to choose between those two? It’s obvious, but I’m sure many people (most likely around my age or younger) think it’s a joke and it would be hilarious if Trump got in.

That’s frightening to think about, isn’t it? However, that’s exactly why I’m writing this. I want to inform people and make them see that this isn’t something that will be funny for a day or two, but rather, that will greatly affect this country and all that it stands for.

My point is that we all (whoever you are) need to WAKE UP. Stop procrastinating and putting things off. Stop making excuses about why you don’t have time or don’t know enough about politics. Stop listening to everything your family, friends, news anchors, etc. are saying and basing your opinion and vote off of them. It does not work unless YOU are the one who can truly form your own opinions about the presidential elections and be knowledgeable about it. Take this seriously and learn a lesson. Turn on the news, pick up a newspaper, or read an online article from a resourceful reference and start trying to make an honest effort to understand what’s going on.

This isn’t something that doesn’t regard you or won’t affect you down the road, because it does and it will. Simply put, you and your vote matter. If you’ve been paying attention to anything that’s been going today in current news, you’d know that your vote and support couldn’t be more influential and necessary than they are now. Do you know who any of the other Republican or democrat candidates are? Have you tried watching the GOP Presidential Debate or listening to the various interviews that other candidates have done? If you answered “no” to any of the above statements, then you need to get a move on and start becoming more aware of what’s going on. It’s our time, and we need to take a stand for what’s best, because we, as a country, have a lot of work to do and need a strong leader that will guide us in the right direction.