I want to say this before this article goes any further: I am in no way endorsing any presidential candidate nor am I informed enough to do so.
We've all been taught in government class or history class that it is our civic duty and responsibility to vote. We were told that because we live in America, the most privileged nation on Earth, we should use the opportunity we have to voice our opinions and beliefs. But what happens when our beliefs can't be reflected in our vote?
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I distinctly remember sitting in my AP United States History class in 2014, talking about First Ladies and joking that Hillary Clinton would be the first female POTUS. A year later, I also distinctly remember sitting in my living room on a June morning in 2015 watching Donald Trump announce his campaign for the 2016 election. I legitimately even tweeted: "I just watched Donald Trump announce he's running for President. Didn't see that coming" or something to that effect. But never in my wildest dreams, or anyone else's for that matter, think that our two final options for the next leader of our country would come down to a former First Lady and a billionaire businessman known for his hair.
There are many people who support both of these candidates. I'm not saying you're wrong if you do. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and who you vote for is your decision, but for so many of us millennials, we don't support either candidate. Our options are to vote for the farthest end of either sides of the political spectrum and most of us do not know that much about politics or today's issues to have a solid choice. We act like we do, but we don't.
So what's the solution if you don't support either candidate?
Yes, there is Gary Johnson, but let's be honest, a third party candidate is such an unlikely winner. Most people only follow what's on CNN or Fox News (that being Clinton and Trump) and have no idea who Gary Johnson is or that they can vote for him.
Again, I'm not endorsing any candidate (I have no idea who I'm voting for yet), but the only thing we can do is thoroughly educate ourselves and vote with whoever's pros list outweigh the cons. Vote for the person who you feel wouldn't destroy our country as much as the opposing side. Whatever you choose, just make sure you vote. Electoral college aside, your opinion does matter in the grand scheme of things and it's important that you have a voice in what happens with this nation.
*Each state has a different voters registration deadline. Georgia's is October 11.*
