Electoral Blues

November is an important month of the year. All months are of course, but in certain years, there a are November's they are more important. This year, we have a big decision to make.... Who do we want as our next president? I know some people who just write it off and say that their voices don't count - it's totally fine that is your opinion. I know other people who vote because it is their civic duty as citizens of this great nation to do so.

My parents are those kind of people.

Every election year our parents would take us to the voting precincts, and we would stand in the old boxes and watch as our parents punched the holes into the paper. Mom was always the one who would take the longest (it felt like and eternity sometimes) and I would just stare at her. Even as a child, I could tell that my mom was taking her time to really think of who she was going to vote for. And after a sigh or a few head scratches, she would move on to the next person she had to vote for. Once both were finished, they would return their ballots and receive their stickers and as soon as they put it on, they had a smile on their faces. 

It wasn't until I turned 18 and voted for my first time that I understood what it meant. You are excited to put on that sticker, no matter who you voted for. You know that your voice has been heard and that your vote counts for something. And you once you put on that sticker, the sticker that has our Nation's flag on it that says 'I voted' that you smile and know what you have done for not just the country, but for generations to come.

This year is no different. We have been hearing campaign ads after campaign ad, so many that we are all sick of them. Every candidate has told us why we should vote for them, and why not to vote for their opponents. And sometimes I'll just say, between any party, it can get down right mean. 

I'm glad my parents taught my sister and I this foundation of what it meant to be an American. That we had the right, to vote for who we pleased. And this year, more than ever, I took more time to think of who I would want to be the leader of our Nation. 

In some ways right before we could start voting this year, it seemed like our country was totally divided on who we were going to vote for. Hopefully, after this day, we can all stand together in unison and support our next president, whomever it may be.

And of course the perfect thing to end this blog would be a nerd quote; "May the odds ever be in your favor". ~ Effie Trinket