At the time of our country's most recent presidential election, I was only 16 years old. A typical 16-year-old who only cared about how she looked, who would ask her to the school dance, and who she was going to hang out with that weekend. Politics was something that was never really on my agenda. In fact, up until that ill-fated election season, I never cared much about politics because I thought it wouldn't affect me. Little did I know, I was extremely wrong — I just never fully understood the value and impact of the decisions being made by our government. But during the horror show that was the 2016 election, I was inspired to get educated about the issues that are important to my moral compass, and encourage others to use their voice to catalyze change in our world.

As a social media obsessed teen, I was constantly on Twitter — it was essentially my morning newspaper. Every day would start with me subconsciously reading a new headline about the rumblings in the political world. With this kind of news at my fingertips, I became unknowingly clued in about the issues surrounding 2016's election season.

When Donald Trump was chosen as the Republican Party's presidential nominee, I had this feeling of uncertainty and trepidation, but I wasn't sure why. Already knowing that my personal values and ideals aligned with the Democratic Party, I became a casual supporter of Hillary Clinton. But as news continued to break day after day about the horrible things that Trump was saying, or what he did in his past, I wanted so badly wanted to prevent this man from becoming the leader of our country.

So, my initial interest in politics began with social equality activism. While I may not have understood taxes or foreign policy, I refused to turn a blind eye to how Trump's presidency would affect the levels of discrimination and hate in our country.

With the amount of support Clinton received from celebrities and other public figures, in addition to all the scandals surrounding Trump's name, I was sure that the United States would finally have its first female president. But when that turned out not to be true, I was stunned beyond belief. I can very clearly remember the moment I realized Trump would become the next president. After finishing a night of dance rehearsals, I sat in my car, watching as the electoral college votes came in. Trump had the majority of votes so far — something I could absolutely not fathom. I am by no means embarrassed or ashamed to admit that I immediately burst into tears upon realizing that Trump would become the president. I was terrified — not for me, but for every person that wasn't a straight white male. Even just from an ethical standpoint, I knew Trump would tear this country into shreds.

So here we are, nearly two years later, and when I think of Trump's presidency, a montage of horrific injustice flashes before my eyes. And after what felt like decades of waiting, I'm finally of voting age and incredibly passionate about being able to make a difference and encouraging others to do so as well. Voting is not hard if you educate yourself on the issues that you believe are important. You don't have to know everything about everything — I've been trying to learn as much as possible the past two years, and still have barely scratched the surface. But because I know what's important to my values, I always know who to throw my support behind. We are extremely lucky that we are able to vote, and many people take this opportunity for granted.

For those of you that don't think your vote matters, Trump became president by just about

80,000 votes across three states. And in the 2016 election, only about 55% of eligible voters actually cast a vote. We would have been able to prevent this disastrous presidency and the awful things that have ensued if every eligible voter actually voted. So I encourage you to find the issues you are passionate about and educate yourself on them and then use your voice. Spread the word to others so we, as a whole, can initiate change in our government and our society, and lead to a better tomorrow.