By Gonzalo Enriquez, Staff writer
Voting to me is part of being American. It is important in a democracy. My vote is my voice, my opinion, and my values. That’s why I voted!
In the beginning of the election season, I was very optimistic about what was going on because I saw myself in Bernie Sanders. He believed in the many things that were important to me and he was very honest. But at the end of the primaries, he wasn’t chosen as one of the nal candidates. At that point, I was undecided as to whom to vote for.
I didn’t know if I should vote. Does my vote mat- ter? Will it make a difference? Can I make a differ- ence? These were all the questions going through my mind, counting the days up to Election Day.
It’s dif cult when you’re young and considering voting for the rst time. You are unsure of the pro- cess, but if you want to vote, it’s up to you to go make it happen.
Millennials make up one-third of eligible voters, yet almost one-quarter of them ages 18-35 would have preferred to endure a meteor strike than to vote in the 2016 election, according to a national poll done by the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
As the election season continued, there were so many controversial issues being brought up and plenty of naming calling. Voters had to choose between the lesser of two evils in this world. I never thought it was even possible to lose friends to the election Also just knowing that there are Americans in my country who supported Donald Trump, a man who believes he can just insult anyone he wants through his social media accounts and thinks that’s okay. Someone who has encouraged so much hatred toward people who are different than him.
As a child, you’re taught that there will be people who are different from you and that’s totally okay. You’re taught to respect others by treating others how you would like to be treated. We’re also taught that it’s not okay to call others names because it’s not nice. These are most of the values we are all taught in our early stages of education. Where are they now?
Voting is hard for young adults because older peers look down on them and think they are unin- formed and prepared to vote for whomever. People look down on us because as young adults, we’re la- beled as narcissistic or self-absorbed. People think we’re always on our phones, laptops, or electronic devices and disconnected from the world and impor- tant issues. But millennials are also the most diverse
generation out there, more than any other, with 44 percent identify as nonwhite, according to National Public Radio News. And we are the most connected.
I ended up voting because I realized that it’s a right that a lot of people have fought for and died for. Many young people take this right to vote for granted because they feel like their vote doesn’t count. A lot of young people believe this because they are young and don’t realize something that seems so insigni – cant as a vote can have such a huge impact on a coun- try.
At the end of all the headlines, all the remarks, all the hatred throughout the 2016 election, I chose to vote for people who don’t have a voice in my coun- try. I wanted to be their voice. I wanted to make sure they had a say in their future. It’s unfair that there are undocumented people who work and do everything that I do here, but cannot vote. It hurts me knowing that some people believe voting shouldn’t be allowed to everyone who is an American.
In the end, who are we to judge how American someone is or isn’t. Who are we to tell people they can’t have a voice in something that will have an im- pact on them. So those of us who can vote, should vote.