This is my first election.

I'm excited, nervous, inspired, petrified....but so ready to cast my vote this upcoming November!

However, the reactions that I have gotten when I have expressed this excitement have been very unsettling.

I've heard and been told:

"Hilary is going to win no matter what, we have nothing to worry about, Erin.”

“Both candidates are corrupt and we are screwed either way. I'm just not going to vote."

“Since _____ didn't win the nomination, I'm voting for the third party candidate____."

PLEASE STOP! I CANNOT TAKE IT ANYMORE!

OK. I understand your frustrations over this election, as the stakes are, indeed, very high.

I understand the frustration people have with the electoral college -- and many who worry that their votes might not even matter.

However, I truly believe our right to vote in this country is a privilege and we must take it seriously.

Let’s think of the great Americans who fought hard for this right (The amazing Dr. MLK, Jr. and Susan B. Anthony, for starters. Remember that when the U.S was formed in 1776, only property-owning white males could vote!?)

Prior to the Civil War, African Americans were completely marginalized throughout the states. Latino voters in different parts of the Southwest faced similar barriers, along with Native American and Asian American voters in the West.

And oh yeah, women we were not granted the right to vote until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920.

WE. HAVE. FOUGHT. HARD. FOR. DECADES. TO. MAKE. AMERICA. GREAT. ALREADY.

Across the country, there are forces at work threatening to deny underprivileged Americans the right to vote; voting rights cannot ever be taken for granted!

Proving this point, in the 2012 Presidential Election, less than half of people who earned under $20,000 voted, according to an article titled, "Why Poor People Still Aren't Voting," in CNN Money. We can only speculate as to why this is true.

I am excited and I don't appreciate the apathy!

No matter how old you are, or how disgruntled you feel about the candidates... just get your ass out there and vote!

Remember that all over this world, there are people who will never get this opportunity.

So in conclusion, I am sending peace, love, light, and a reminder to head to the polls on November 8th!

- e.e