Opinion: Make this election season matter — go vote!

Midterms are here, and I don’t just mean the middle of the quarter — our po­litical midterms. It is time for our generation, the people of tomorrow, to go out there and vote. Why vote? It matters because we will be living with the consequences of this election.

We vote for lawmakers and rep­resentatives to represent who we are and what we want. If we don’t like what is going on or who is in office, we have the power to vote for people who have similar views and can cre­ate the change in what we don’t like about the world we live in.

The time to vote is now. We have seen what has happened in our coun­try, and we have witnessed the path of destruction our government has set us on. We, the millennials, the people who have been taunted with avocado toast and the “your genera­tion is rude and entitled” comments, must take the time to create the change that we all know we need.

There are 29 million people aged 19–25 in the United States — and only 41 percent of “young voters” aged 18–29 actually vote. On the other end of the scale, 71 percent of the elderly vote. Why is the genera­tion who is on its way out the only ones voting? Their generation has had their chance — now, it’s ours. Your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents have had their chance. You wouldn’t have your parents and grandparents choose what you wear, who your friends are or what you do with your life. Why let them choose how your country is going to be?

We must vote to create change. If there is a policy we don’t like, we can vote to change it. Our representatives are supposed to be there for the peo­ple, to hear us out and make things happen for us, so if they aren’t doing what we want or what they promised, we can vote them out. We live in a country where, at least I hope, de­mocracy matters. Our way of life should not be ruled by one person’s ideal set. Our country is for the peo­ple, not just for the one person.

We have been creating change since we were born. Our generation has evolved and molded what we use and do every day. We have created today. Why let yesterday continue to rule? Yesterday still calls you to ask how to log onto Facebook.

As a person of our country, your future is at stake, and so is your little siblings’ future, your children’s future — do something now to change it. What we do at the polls on Nov. 6 matters, even if it is small — it takes a small spark to light a fire. Be that spark, and start the change. Your one vote does matter, your voice matters and, most importantly, you matter. Don’t be pushed aside by the major­ity — stand loud and tall. Vote and be proud of it — your one vote could very well be the one to change everything. So why chance that?