I'm 18 years old, and for the first time, I went to a polling place and cast my vote- this time, to help decide the future of the country.
I've been an Obama supporter ever since he entered the race. I live in Indiana, and go to Indiana University in Bloomington. As soon as I got on campus, I joined "Students for Barack Obama" (lovingly abbreviated SFBO), and followed as we traveled the country spreading his message hope. I personally have made two trips to Iowa and two trips to Ohio while being a full time student. This was long before the first primaries, back before my friends took him seriously.
I could barely express my excitement when the Obama office opened in downtown Bloomington a couple of weeks ago. Indiana would finally matter, and I had a chance to make a difference in the world. Washington politicians would finally be catering to the wants of our college town.
That became apparent when Dave Matthews put on a surprise concert to support Barack (and even stopped a couple times to encourage people to vote Obama). I watched as people lined up for 3 or 4 hours, people who drove from Northern Indiana just to get tickets. I walked up and down that line for hours to get people to register to vote. I talked to people who thought they had to pay a fee to register, people who didn't know there was a primary, people who probably wont vote anyway.
At that point, I was an intern for the campaign. The Obama office was hiring 18 year olds with no former political experience. Why? Because I asked to help, and I wasn't ignored. I wasn't told that I was "naïve" or told that I was just delusional. Because I am the future, and I can make a difference, however small.
After that, it became apparent that the other democratic candidate wouldn't be putting forth much of an effort in Bloomington. Obama has two offices, she has none. I haven't seen a single person associated with her campaign trying to get people registered, because when more people vote, Obama wins.
I suppose I've had a unique experience so far. I've had the time, and the desire, to make a difference, and hopefully I have. I've had the chance to enter people's homes and talk to them about why I love Obama, I've talked to people who cant vote, but love what I'm doing, and try to give me a hug while offering me chocolate and pop from their fridge. I'm idealistic, and I guess I'm lucky that the first candidate I've had the chance to support has not only caught on, but taken the lead. In fact, I'm a little jealous of my older friends who can (now that they've graduated) become full time staffers in the office downtown until the primary on May 6th.
So that brings me to today- when I finally got on the shuttle our group is running to bring students from their dorms to the polling place. I finally presented my student ID after reminding so many others to bring theirs to the polls. I asked for my Democratic ballot (on paper, so they cant mess it up with electronic machines), and I filled in hole 7- labeled "Barack Obama".
Barack and Roll. Cheers.
Updated: Thanks for the recommendations, everyone! It's my first diary, what a surprise!
Another thing I forgot to mention- before I could vote, a woman pulled me outside, real serious like, and told me that I'd have to take off the political advertisements from my person. I looked at her, said "what?" and she pointed to the five Obama buttons on my purse. I laughed, and was glad it wasn't as serious as she made it sound.