You Voted? Congratulations!

ABC News On Campus reporter Alexa Davis blogs:

Today, at a small public high school, I cast my first-ever vote, and the experience will be ingrained in my mind for the rest of my voting years.

It wasn’t the most dramatic day — it’s not as though hundreds of fellow town residents gave a synchronized salute as I marched to the voting booth. When I journeyed to the high school’s voting station at 9:00 a.m., there were about two dozen people quietly waiting to enter the booths, some holding coffee cups and chatting softly with neighbors. However, despite the mundane appearance of the school and the subdued conversation among voters, there was electricity in the air, and the sense that we were all doing something important.

Maybe it’s because I was voting for the first time, but as I stood waiting in line to cast my vote, I was very aware of the nervous glances among the young voters, and felt relieved to see that other people were also slightly daunted at the prospect of fulfilling our responsibility as American citizens! I also noted the calm smiles of more seasoned voters. More than anything, there was a tangible sense of pride in the air. I sensed, and felt myself, a feeling of dignity and gratification at contributing my opinion to our national government. In my tiny town of Haworth, N.J., I felt pride and mutual appreciation for our potential to create change.

When I told another resident waiting in line that it was my first time voting he said, “Good for you! Congratulations,” as if voting were a great personal accomplishment. Then, when I told my younger sister, she said, “Great job! Wow, that’s so cool. I can’t wait until I can vote.” Again, in the elevator at work, a co-worker whom I had never met asked if I had voted and when I replied that I had, he said, “Good work. Congrats.” What’s particularly interesting is that this sense of accomplishment is not divided by party lines; even my mother, who votes differently than I do, congratulated me on exercising my ability to vote.

Though I have long anticipated the day that I could cast a vote and lay claim to what I felt was a symbol of adulthood, I did not expect this unifying effect that voting produced. Call it patriotism, national camaraderie, or just plain egotism, the sense of pride and appreciation that I was able to experience with complete strangers today shocked and delighted me. As a matter of fact, it’s very possible that one day my memories from this voting experience will last as long as my memories of who won.