The 2016 election was not one to forget. I was ten years old, sitting on the couch, watching the polls go up and down. My mom sat next to me as we anticipated the results that would lead to the next president of the U.S.. When I went to class the next day and saw a boy distraught over the election, I was confused. As a fourth grader, I did not recognize the full scope of the election results, and I was only saddened to see the idea of a female president go away. However, since my experience with the 2016 election, I have been shoved into the political world and have seen its impacts on society.  

The COVID-19 pandemic was one full of controversy. Society split on decisions regarding how to approach this rapidly spreading disease. While democrats saw social distancing and testing effective, many republicans had differing views, seeing them more as skeptical. 

Later, the January 6 capital attack, conducted by far-right extremists, showed the lengths a political party would go to for their desired candidate. Whether in person or through social media, the U.S. became very politicized. The divide between Democrats and Republicans became more apparent than I had ever seen before. 

Then, in June 2022, I witnessed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, an amendment protecting the privacy and health of women and their right to abortion. Consequently, 11 states took up early gestational age bans. For example, Florida took up a 15-week ban on abortion, limiting women from getting an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. This bill has also significantly impacted access to reproductive healthcare for poor women and women of color, as the majority of women who have abortions are Black (23.8 per 1,000 women) and Hispanic (11.7 per 1,000 women). 

When I first heard the rumors of this bill being signed, I could not believe it. How could the men of Congress understand a woman’s body? Why can the government dictate what we do with our bodies? Having to ponder on these questions as a 15-year-old girl was terrifying, and the impacts of politics were beginning to feel closer to home. 

Moreover, in 2022, DeSantis signed several educational bills in addition to the “Don’t Say Gay Bill”, also signed in 2022. For example, the “Stop W.O.K.E Act,” –  a racially motivated law that encourages censorship and a dishonest depiction of African-American history. Furthermore, Florida legislation banned AP courses such as African-American history and AP Psychology (although later notified it would not violate the law). Another ridiculous state-wide rule concerns students’ nicknames or preferred names, which now have to be signed off by a parent, adding immense stress to teachers if they were to accidentally misname someone. 

Since 2020, the world around me has drastically changed and these changes have become more prevalent in my daily life. I am a teenager. I am unable to vote in legislation that affects my peers and me. Yet we are the ones who must live with them every day. 

Next year I will be 18. Next year I will be voting in the 2024 election. Voting is my opportunity to engage in civic life, and a powerful tool to get one’s voice heard.

As a youth, it is vital we stay informed about the world around us and take our political stances. More and more legislation is directly targeting the younger generations from education to healthcare. Young voters compose half of the voting population yet only two out of five youth say they feel prepared to vote, and an even more worrying factor is that only one in four young voters cast ballots. These statistics are alarming, especially when the next generation could have such a pivotal influence on the country if they exercised their right to vote. 

Younger voters may feel that their voice is only one out of millions in the polls, however, the phrase ‘every vote counts’ is very true. As seen in the 2012 election of former president Barack Obama, it is proven that the youth make a difference, former President Obama won 67% of youth votes, which was crucial in giving him a large margin over his competitors. Obama saw the importance of youth voting, and it is time we all felt the same.