Brittney Washington
Springfield
One day, sitting at home watching TV, I got a phone call from my brother, and we started chatting about the election and how everyday it was getting scary to live in America and how he feared for his life because of where he lived. He lives in Arizona and Trump’s supporters were going crazy at the time. Having that chat with my brother really got me thinking about voting. To be honest, I always believed my voice or my opinion wouldn’t be heard, and that’s why I would never vote. We had an hour long conversation about how it’s important to vote. We wanted a change and we knew what we had to do so we registered to vote. It felt good. It was my and my brother’s first time voting. I just remember him calling me to tell me he voted and how powerful he felt doing it. I hung up the phone and I was like, If he could do it, I could.
I just remember going up to the podium having my voting sheet of paper in hand and checking those boxes. I felt empowered.
On voting day, my aunt and I got up at 7 a.m. and we walked to the community center where voting was taking place. It felt so good seeing how many people were there voting and everyone being nice, saying hello. I just remember going up to the podium having my voting sheet of paper in hand and checking those boxes. I felt empowered. I took a stand and made my voice known and walked back home with a smile on my face to think people would listen to me.
Last year’s election really opened my eyes to see how bad things can happen when you don’t speak up or share your thoughts or opinions. For this election, I was inspired to get out and vote and speak my mind and I saw what happened. Change is real, make your voice known. You’ll be surprised what can happen. I know I was.
