Sarah Morris
Staff Writer
On the days leading up to the Presidential Election, I was becoming extremely jittery at the prospects of voting. What if I chose the wrong candidate? (Wrong being subjective, of course). I was not 18 during the last election, so this was my first voting experience. The feeling of contributing to an important political movement was something I later realized and cherished.
Around 2 p.m. on the day of the election, I realized that the decision might not actually go my way. I could vote and put my heart and soul into the pushing of the screen over my preferred candidate’s name and find that his opposition had won at the end of the night. I kept nervously bringing it up to friends, but their looks of confusion disheartened me. How was nobody else as scared as I was? The future of the free world was being chosen and everybody seemed so blasé!
When I saw that Pennsylvania had turned blue, I screamed at the top of my lungs and jumped off the couch to high five everybody in the room. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt more American than that very moment when I realized that my vote had actually counted. My vote helped President Barack Obama win a second term in office.
After the results were in that Obama would be back in the Oval Office yet again, I, of course, checked my Facebook. The number of people claiming they were going to leave the country was unbelievable. Someone I went to high school with back in Georgia actually claimed something along the lines of: “I will personally lead the South in a secession.” Needless to say, he was unfriended immediately. The results of the election were so joyous for me! Healthcare, gay marriage and rape is real! How could I be unhappy? The reactions of my peers were highly disappointing.
Yes, of course I would be sad if Romney won, but leaving America isn’t the right idea. It would mean that four years later, there wouldn’t be a voice like mine to share an opinion in the next election. It is so easy to think of the election as some competition that is won and then over with forever. We are so lucky to live in a nation that allows us the opportunity to have a say in the future of the country. It’s worth it to stick around and make your voice heard.