The ice is melting here. Let’s stop pretending things are getting better in our country because they are not. Voting is the only way to make the changes you want to see in the world.

Sept. 24 was National Voter Registration Day, which is, in my opinion, one of the most important holidays of the year.

Are you registered to vote? What about your family and friends? 

If you are someone who cares about this country, you should be taking action to register to vote right now. I remember when I first turned 18, I had no idea where to go to vote or how.

I felt embarrassed because I wanted to seem educated or “woke,” but I was not. I researched. I educated myself by listening to and learning from people who had wisdom to teach me.

It is not embarrassing to ask questions. It is embarrassing to do nothing and act as if there are not serious issues going on in our country.

By not voting, you are part of the problem of people who complain about what needs to be changed while doing nothing about it.

The real length of time that change is able to happen in is a marathon, it requires time. 

Activism is not as sexy as people make it seem. 

Activism doesn’t come with the win you have after a sports game or the feeling you get when it is the weekend. Activsim is committing to showing up even when you do not want to. It is learning, even if you do not understand. It is doing the right thing. And it is even admitting to the fact that what you once thought was right was not. 

Part of voting is recognizing our privilege. If you look at voting as a want rather than a need, you are blind to the fact that you are someone in this country who is privileged enough to not be affected by the political issues going on in our country. It is not about arguing that you are not privileged, it is about fixing it.

There is a reason why there is a level of consciousness going on in this country, and there is another reason why this reality television show is our president. 

A lot of Americans want to assume that we have grown past these social issues by having female or minority candidates, but there lies yet another part of the privilege. 

The fallout in our country in this given moment is indicative of the grossness that is going on. 

However, we, as a country, have to do the work because we are on the edge of falling right back into losing all of the progress that has been made as the pieces we have built up were collapsing. 

There are many wake up calls in life. It is up to you to wake and answer. Now is not the time to hit snooze. Now is the time to vote.