Unless you've been living under a rock on Mars, you have heard about the coming presidential election this year. And you're probably a bit nervous about it; either because of how much time is left, or because of the candidates involved in it. You're maybe even considering just not voting. It's stressful, it's a lot of work, you have to go out and drive a while to do it, and your vote wouldn't even matter, right?

Wrong. All wrong. This election year, with candidates and people so strongly divided, your vote matters more than ever.

I'll repeat that: your vote really matters.

Why? Well, imagine your favorite sports player is about to make the goal, then goes, "Well, we're going to get another point later, so why should I make this one?" It seems silly, right? Not voting isn't much different. A decision can be made by even the smallest of differences. Another reason? Not voting is just like giving your vote to your least favorite candidate, because by not voting at all, you're certainly not voting against them.

And your vote isn't on just the president. In fact, the election includes lots of things to vote on. Your governor, senators, and representatives, your city officials, and new state and county laws are included and are even more important than who you vote for for president. Your vote matters toward changing and making laws you for things you care about, and getting the right people into your state offices. Because what goes on statewide and citywide will effect you more than the president ever will.

But, maybe you really don't want to vote for Trump or Hillary? Then you can vote third party, also called independent. You can look up the third party candidates, look up their policies, and decide who you would like to give your vote to this coming election. And to do so is almost no different than voting Democratic or Republican.

Now that you've decided you're definitely going to vote, you're probably wondering, well, how? The first step is getting registered. You can do it by paper, but even easier, you can register online. To do so, just use the search engine of your choice to look up where to register for the state you live in. Find your driver's licence--or anything else they ask for--then get to registering.

Once you are registered, all you need to do is figure out where your voting office is and go to it when it is time. But, maybe the drive is long, you don't like crowds, or you really don't fancy waiting in line forever! Then you can vote by mail. All you have to do is register a bit differently, then send your ballot in when it's time. Simple.

If you are able to, it is our duty as an American citizen to do so; and if you don't, you have no right to complain about the outcome. Voting isn't difficult to do, it benefits you as a person to be more aware of what is going on around you, and it is very important. Now, there really isn't a reason not to.