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Wielding
the Power for the First Time |
Posted:
11.03.04
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First-time voter Rachel Katz shares what it feels like to enter
the voting booth and make a choice for the first time.
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 I
pulled the curtain shut behind me and took a deep breath. This
was my moment. I thought about another first-time voter who left
the booth before me. "I waited a long time for that,"
he said with a smile. I, too, waited a long time and now I finally
had the chance to make my voice heard.
Admittedly, I was confused walking into the polling place. Although
it was an on-campus building, I had never been in it before and
was unsure where to go. I entered the empty lobby and wondered
if I was in the wrong place before I noticed signs telling me
to go up a ramp. I cautiously followed the signs to a small room.
Inside, people were lined up around several tables leading up
to the reason we were all there: the single voting booth.
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An unsure
beginning |
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I was unsure where to start, but I was quickly shuffled through
the process. I checked in with my identification and signed by
my name. I took a lavender-colored piece of paper that represented
what the voting choices would look like inside the booth.
As I was eyeing my choice candidate and looking over the other
options, the worker I checked in with asked if I knew what I was
doing. I told him it was my first time voting, and he explained
that the process was simple. All I had to do was press the box
that my candidates were in and a red light would appear in that
box. When I was done selecting my choices, I would press the bright
green "VOTE" button at the bottom of the booth.
I waited in line behind two other people, and a line of about
six people gathered behind me. It was easy to tell who were first-time
voters like myself: we stood a little uneasily, looking around
with slight smiles on our faces. Older voters appeared much calmer,
focused on their goal and ready to vote. I, on the other hand,
reveled in the moment.
Before I even voted, I was given my "I voted" sticker.
It did not quite feel right wearing the sticker before I had even
set foot in the booth, but I wore it nonetheless.
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Wielding
the power |
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Finally, it was my turn. I stepped inside the booth and pulled
the curtain closed behind me. I chose my candidates and pressed
the button to make my vote count.
I could not help smiling when I left the booth. I walked across
the damp grass back to my car, grinning. I voted, I wielded the
power that President Bush and Senator Kerry said I had, the same
power celebrities like Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Ben
Affleck urged me to use.
Tuesday night, I will find out if my candidate won the election.
Win or lose, I know my vote counted and made a difference. While
it meant nothing before I entered the voting booth, it means everything
now: I am proud to wear the small sticker that makes a huge statement:
"I voted."
--
First-time voter Rachel Katz is a sophomore at the University
of Kentucky
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The comments we teenagers make today could be traced for years to come on the Internet.
