Turning 18 is a huge milestone in anyone's life. You are finally considered an adult, you can buy lottery tickets, have your own Costco membership, and you have the privilege to vote. Ever since I can remember, I've always looked forward to voting and just last year, I proudly told people that I could finally vote in the next presidential election.
However, not many 18-year-olds feel that they should vote. They think that their vote won't matter or they just don't care about what goes on in this country as long as someone has some control over it. Well, I think the opposite.
There have been many presidential debates over the past couple of weeks and I seem to be the only one in my family or in my close group of friends that seem even somewhat interested in what is going on. I'm the only one who actually wants to hear what each candidate has to offer. Don't get me wrong, half the time I have no idea what they are talking about (and let's be real, I don't think the candidates do either), but I still want to be informed and try to learn as much as possible before I cast my vote. The media is currently flooded with these debates, commercials, and even Bad Lip Readings of the candidates, which makes it a hard topic to run away from, especially since everyone uses social media 24/7.
If you're 18, you should vote. Wait, scratch that. You need to vote. Your vote does matter because we are the future. We get to voice our opinion about who we believe should be the next president, and our vote gets taken into consideration. To me, it seems pretty ridiculous that you wouldn't take part in that activity. Sure, it might not seem like a big deal now about who is president since we are only 18, but think about it in the future. This president will be in office for four years and potentially eight (unless something happens of course). In four years, we will be 22, and these issues that each candidate talks about on every debate will be important to us then. In eight years we will be 26 and we could be married with kids. Would you want to live in a country where the president isn't up to your standards and have to raise your kids in a place with a president that does bad things for this country? I wouldn't. If you think it doesn't matter now, this stuff definitely will sooner than you realize.
Get informed about the candidates and all that they have to offer and their opinions on important issues. It's important to act now and to take appropriate steps in preparing for a better future for this country.
Your vote matters and will always matter. Don't think you are too young to change the world, because we are the ones who are up next to do it.
'Merica.
