The 2016 presidential race has taken the news by storm. As the primaries are coming up soon, the race is becoming even more and more important. For most college students, this is the first time many of us can exercise one of our greatest rights as Americans, the right to vote. The fact I am able to vote in this presidential election has enthralled me and has been pivotal in my life lately.
Disclaimer: I have never showed interest in politics until about five months ago. I’ve been registered to vote since I was 18 and that was just about it. I know odds and ends about President Obama, but really nothing about his policies and decisions. When people talked about politics, I would nod my head and pretend to listen.
You might be wondering what caused my spark in all of this. Well, first you need a little background. I spent all of this past summer in Dublin, Ireland. I was there for three months doing an internship. I was very quickly immersed into Irish culture. One big thing about Irish people is that they love Americans. They love everything (well almost everything) about America. That soon quickly led to people often asking me question about our great country and our leader, President Obama.
I was asked endless questions about what I thought about President Obama, what I would like to see different, etc. When asked those questions, I wouldn’t ever be able to formulate an opinion. Simply because I knew nothing about him, what he has done or what he was currently doing. I found Irish people knew more about President Obama than I ever did. I began to feel slightly embarrassed and ashamed that I knew absolutely nothing.
When I got back home, I really began to realize the true importance of having the right to vote. According to CNN, 2015 was the first year ever that women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to vote. The year 2015. That’s unfathomable to me. Women have been allowed to vote in the United States since the 19th amendment passed in 1920. So many people would love to have the right to vote, while we Americas all have the inalienable right. We are given the right that so many people still fight and die for.
Since my eye-opening experience, I have really began to closely follow the presidential race. I’m nowhere near the political expert, but I really try to pay attention and to be informed. In the year 2012, I missed being of age to vote by just a few months. Ever since then, I have been looking forward to the year 2016, the year I get to exercise my right to vote in the presidential election. College students are the future of America; we need to pay attention and we need to care about what’s happening to our country. So many people often say that they aren’t going to vote “because my vote doesn’t really matter.” You cannot think like that. Each vote can make all the difference.
College students are taking the extra step in their life to continue their education and to grow and expand their minds. With that, one needs to keep challenging themselves and bettering themselves. What does that better than using your right to vote? Within the next four years or so, college students will be graduating and moving on to the “real world.” The president who wins this election will greatly shape and affect how we all live our lives. That alone should be a reason to get involved and to vote, so that you can have a say to help better your future.
Many college age students don’t necessarily care about voting. They’ll often say that their vote doesn’t count or it wouldn’t even make a difference so why bother. It saddens me that people think that way. The U.S. Census Bureau’s voting data shows that on average, less than half of the eligible young adults voters will actually make it to the polls for a national presidential election. Young adults need to care about voting and getting involved. It’s as simple as that, we need to get active and help better our country.
Not to mention that registering to vote is completely free (besides postage) and very simple to do. Go to https://registertovote.org, fill out the form and become a registered voter in the greatest country in the world. Become familiar with the upcoming presidential election and candidates to see who you like and who best fits your views. If you truly don't believe your vote matters or just think it's unimportant, why not just try it out for the heck of it? It can't harm you, it'll only better you.
Believe in yourself, believe in our great country and believe that you can help better our great country. Vote to honor a veteran, vote to honor someone who died trying to vote. Vote to make a difference and vote to be proud of who you are and where you’ve come from.
