For 18 years, I have grown up in a very interesting period in American history. Throughout my life, I have witnessed a terrorist attack, groundbreaking Supreme Court rulings, an economic recession, and a staggering violence epidemic. It was only in August that I turned 18 and was expected to assume my responsibilities as an adult. I’m supposed to have a job, have an opinion, get involved, go to college, and make something of myself. What does that even mean? Make something of myself. Isn’t that what I have been doing my entire life?

When I was five years old, my biggest concern was what kind of snack my mom packed me for preschool and if I could trade my Ho-Ho cake for a Little Debbie treat with my cubby hole neighbor Lexi. Now, I have the power to influence a very controversial presidential election. We are not talking a trivial snack picking but rather a decision that could affect an imperative period of my life in the next four years. Millennials get a very bad reputation for being passive and lazy when it comes to current events. I am here to call that bluff.

The most important thing Millennials can do today is to get involved and make their voices heard. Create a wave of positive change.

People often believe that Baby Boomers have the majority of the vote, but as they get older, Millennials are beginning to take their place in society. Rather than sticking to the ways of the past, Millennials are getting their opinions out there. Gay marriage is legal throughout the States, and gender equality is becoming a more popular subject. All of these actions have caused people, mainly born in the 1980s and 1990s, to take charge of their rights and get their opinions out to the ears of the public; however, in all of this, Millennials often don't recognize how much power they have to change society's views. Although Baby Boomers' opinions usually oppose Millennials, twenty-somethings actually have more power than they think.

So if you think one opinion or one person's voice doesn't matter, it does. Profusely.

This is not only what I can do for my country, but it is also what others can do for it as well.