16 Days. 16 days is all the separated me from deciding my future, and for having my voice be heard. 16 days is what barred me from doing something I am so passionate about.

16 days is all that kept me from voting in this Presidential Election.

Some people may find this to not be such a big deal-- some people may even call me lucky that I didn't have to choose between two candidates that both had some major issues. I disagree with them. Not being able to vote is a very big deal to me, considering that I currently am a freshman in college and this election is going to set a lot of things in stone for me when it comes to my future. Like if our economy goes down the gutter and unemployment rates skyrocket, how will I be able to get a job out of college? If Obamacare is repealed, and I have to start paying for my birth control (which I take because I have ovarian cysts, which screw with my hormone levels, not to prevent pregnancy), how am I going to pay for it?

The fact that I was unable to vote in this election is heartbreaking to me. As a soon to be political science major, I am very involved with politics, and seeing people blindly vote for one candidate because of their charisma, or their gender, makes me want to scream. Many people did not look at this election with an educated eye; looking for who would be the most qualified candidate, or who had the best policies that will progress America instead of throwing us 60 years back in time.

I tried to leave an ambiance around my political views throughout this article, but let it be warned that I am a warm blooded die hard liberal. What really burns me the most about not being able to vote is the fact that the opposing candidate to the democratic party, beside him picking up politics as a hobby a year ago, is extremely closed minded and conservative. I worry for my friends of color, my friends that are LGBTQ+, my friends who are Muslims, my friends who are Latina and of course my fellow women. Only a week after the president-elect and hate crime after hate crime is popping up around this country. I am ashamed that I was not able to vote against this hatred and protect you, even if I had no control over circumstances.

So yes, to everyone who tells me missing this election was a blessing in disguise, you are dead wrong. This election was one of the most important ones in our history: it elected a new supreme court justice, decided our stance on foreign policy, decided what economy will dictate for the next 4+ years, and it had the potential to strip everyone's rights right from their hands (unless they are white, male, and straight).

16 days is what barricaded me from something so monumentally huge, and I am not okay with it, I never will be. 16 days.