Tell Us As You Write Your Story: Your Electrifying Insight Right Now
You have this feeling because you’re alive
The first U.S. presidential election in which I voted included the primary at the end of my sophomore year of college when I was 19 and the general at the beginning of my junior year when I was 20. I felt energized about casting my vote. I saw it as a way of expressing myself and having my opinion be formally counted, even if it was a drop in the bucket with everyone else’s. Knowing that some people had fought hard for the right to vote, I also believed it was important for everyone who had this right to use it.
It was the year 2000. Unable to see one year into the future, I couldn’t predict what would define this particular presidency. I cared about who would win, but I was also excited merely by the abstract idea of casting a vote.
Other young adults are highly motivated to drive (this terrified me) or drink (why would I care)? I was more excited to vote.
As a writer, I feel a similar excitement any time I write something important to me. I decide what to say, and I create for myself the opportunity to be heard. My essays are like my votes. I want to write them.
