In eight years, I will be 29 years old. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. I have no idea where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing. Maybe I’ll be married. Maybe I’ll be pregnant, trying to start a family of my own. I hope I will be doing a job I love at a company I respect. A lot can change in eight years.

This has been on my mind a lot because of the upcoming election. This is the first time that I’ll be able to vote in a presidential election and it’s the first time I realized that a presidential election affects me. The next person who holds the highest position in this nation can have a drastic affect on my life and the way I live it. That is a huge responsibility and really scary. When I think about this, I don’t understand how people can not vote.

And I know what you’re thinking, that one presidential term is four years, not eight. But can you name the last time an incumbent president lost to a challenger? It was 1992 and before that it was 1980. So yes, it is possible for our next president to only serve one term, but also unlikely. That’s why I’m looking at the next eight years.

There are so many things I want for myself and for any children I might have. I want to be paid equally to that of a man. I want to be able to have control over my own body and what I decide to do with it. I hope that when or if I do decide to have children that I will be able to do so and not have to worry about my job still being there when I come back. I hope I will be able to do so without having to worry about my finances.

And then I wonder about any future children I have. Will I have to pick them up from school early because there has been a terrorist attack, like my mother did with me on 9/11? Will I have to explain to them why one of their friends was shot dead by a police officer? How young are they going to be when I have to explain to them what deportation is or why the color of your skin seems to determine how likely you are to get sent to jail? Am I going to have to worry about taking them to the movies or the mall, sending them to school, or even outside to play?

I worry about these things, because like everyone, I want a better life for my children than I had. Every time I turn on the TV there is a new shooting, a new hashtag. Is it going to change? Will there be progress at least?

This election is scary for me because I feel as if these next eight years are going to set up how I live the rest of my life. These next eight years could set up the way I raise my children. And there are so many people who don’t vote and that’s terrifying. Here, you have a chance to say what you want from your government officials, (remember, it’s important that you vote EVERY year because Congress and local officials have just as much, if not more, of an impact on your life) and you choose not to say anything.

I’m not here to tell you who to vote for. I’m here to tell you to think about where you want to see yourself in the next eight years. What you want for your children, your grandchildren, parents, friends. I’m here to tell you to get out and vote because eight years is a long time. Don’t you want your voice to help decide where this country is eight years later? I know I do.