My First Vote

I was recently fortunate enough to vote for the first time in my local primaries! This is something I have been looking forward to since 5th grade, as I stood in a swarm at a Hillary Clinton Presidential rally and was so excited to see so many people, especially women, who felt influenced to use their power to enact positive change. To be honest I always assumed my first time voting would be to put a woman in the white house, but that was before I realized how important it is to vote in local elections. I am so glad to have done so, and the applause I got from all of the volunteers when they learned it was my first time voting was just an added bonus!

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say things like "I hate politics" or "I try to stay out of politics". It is incomprehensible to me how people are able to say this without realizing the deeper meaning of these words. Do you not realize how much privilege you have to have to be able to say this? Some people have no choice but to become political, since they are at risk of their basic human rights being stripped away with no one to advocate for them but themself. I recognized this from a fairly young age, and only felt more inclined to become as educated on as many "political" topics as possible. Even as a queer Latina woman, I am still incredibly privileged and have made it my life goal to use any leverage I may have to uplift the voices of those who don't. I will continue to vote, to speak out, to learn, and to uplift as many times as I can since it is a privilege, and the work of my ancestors to move to America to give me these rights will not be something I take for granted.