My 18th Birthday

I turned 18 right around the time that the rest of my friends did. We were all born within a few months of each other, but I was the last one to turn 18. The day of my 18th birthday, I approached my Government teacher (a super liberal) who wished me a Happy Birthday. He handed me an envelope that had a voter registration packet in it. The first thing I did on my 18th birthday wasn't purchasing a pack of cigarettes or a porn magazine. The first thing I did on my 18th birthday was register to vote.

I registered Republican. My sophomore year of high school was the same time as the Bush/Kerry race in 2004. So many people hated me because of that race. I was without a doubt, one of three Bush supporters. I was in fact, the only one who vocalized my support for Bush. All of my fellow "supporters" denied their allegiance when they were questioned by our liberal teachers, and socialist friends.

In the course of those grueling election months, I had been called: Warlord, Gay-hater, Bible salesman, Moneybags, A-Bomb, Mr. Corporation, Bush Jr., Redneck and Gunslinger. I guess I can only disagree with a few of them...

I wore a Bush-Cheney 2004 band, similar to the Livestrong bands. It was blue and red and had an elephant on it. I was harassed more my sophomore year of high school than I was during the awkward voice-cracking puberty stage we've all been through.

I guess the point of this post is to show that young people do care about politics, young people do care about government and who we elect as leaders. I can proudly say that I'm one of the few who ignored the text messages by Obama. I didn't need to set a calendar reminder on my cell phone to tell me that November 4th was election day.

I'm doing this blog to raise awareness in the young community that we can and will make a difference... we just have to use a little common sense. Don't be swayed by the fad-following majority. Dare to be different.