The Forgotten Birthday Reward
| Published 10/01/04

Graphic by: Doni Neel

There are a few birthdays in which special celebration is mandatory. On your 16th birthday, you get to get behind the wheel and truly terrify your parents. On your 18 birthday, you get to buy cigarettes and are officially an adult. Obviously the 21st birthday is the one where you do the famous bar crawl. On your 40th birthday, you are said to be over the hill, and you get no rewards. Then at 65, you are eligible for the senior citizens discount.

  This is how most people view the birthday sequence, but what they don't realize is that they are leaving out one of the most important experiences in one's life: voting. I have news for those fresh out of high school and excited to be legitimate adults. Adulthood comes responsibilities.

  Everywhere you turn is the election, but still some choose to not vote. Walking on campus and seeing groups promoting the different candidates, then heading home and turning on the TV to find news surrounding the upcoming election has become the norm. Many say that they have not been following the election, but this is the time to start. With the debates and conventions, now is the time to listen to the candidates and get a feel for who you believe in.

  Voting is a relatively easy experience. Even though you are just one person, it's true that every vote counts. No matter who you are voting for, it's important to get out there and experience what it means to be an adult. If one day you're going to have to be out in the real world and on your own, why not choose to have a say in who is leading you?

  As college students, we will soon be on our own and will have no choice but to follow politics. So why not take this opportunity where we are spending all of our time learning to actually learn how to support our country?

  On your 16th birthday, you got behind the wheel of a car. On your 21st birthday, you stepped into a bar. Why not spend some time in the voting booth where you can actually have a say in the world?