I love voting.

When I voted with my mom in 2004 (pressing the Kerry button), I'd learned so much since the last national election that even though I couldn't vote as I was 16, it was still an awe-inspiring moment.

My ancestors, and most of my relatives today, are not rich.

I will never own property.

I will never be a man.

But I still get to vote.

This fact must explain my behavior when I voted early in 2008. I didn't have anything to read and no ipod or mp3 player, but I wasn't bored in a bad way. And I was so excited when I got to vote.

I think of all the fights that guaranteed my right to vote, and the even worse fights for the POC next to me, and it makes me proud to vote. Even if my vote "doesn't matter" because we are in Tennessee. I still voted.

I will be voting this November. I did vote in 2006, but it was by a mail-in ballot, so not that same sense of something important.

I am not saying you should vote for democrats in November (or in 2012) - though that would be awesome!

All I'm saying is that most of us couldn't vote when this country was founded, and we can now. We should exercise that right.


(Yeah, not timely, but whatever. It's still something I'm in awe of, even months away from an election.)

ETA: Perhaps the inspiration was the census. I looked forward to it so much, I am participating, I will be counted! And it took about 5 seconds longer than voting itself (not counting the line). They didn't even ask what TV shows I watched. Just name, race, address, boring. But I'm part of our democracy, I get to be a part!

It doesn't take much to excite me.

By the way, a form I have to fill out for a new doctor - no excitement. Snore.