Election 2008 Comes to an End

Tomorrow is the day many has dubbed as the most important election of our lives. In one day it will be all over, the arguments with who to vote for and what propositions should pass or fail will all be over. But how many of us will be happy?

The first time I voted for a president was in the fall of 2000. I remember being extremely excited and a little nervous when I walked into the polling place at the elementary school. I had been waiting to vote since I was 10 years old. I remember laying on my grandmother's floor watching the 1992 election coverage, mad about not being old enough to vote. All I could concentrate on were the percentages. I chanted, "Come on Clinton," in my head over and over again.

I don't remember why I wanted Clinton to win exactly, but I do remember a couple of years later when my mom took us all out to a nice dinner with her tax return we all credited it to the president.

I walked into the polling place alone, armed with knowledge of every thing on the ballot. I am old enough to vote, I am old enough to make a choice and I am old enough to make a difference, I told myself.

Later that night I sat with my mouth wide open staring at the T.V.

WHAT!? Bush won, no Gore won! No Bush. NO!

We all know what happened in the following weeks and I didn't think I could have been more disappointed -- then there was 2004.

Tomorrow I hope the person I vote for will win, not because I voted for him, but because Barack Obama is the best hope this country has.

I cannot imagine the direction this country will be taken in if John McCain wins. We have watched him change his persona for this election. We are witnesses to his terrible choice of a running mate, Sarah Palin. I cannot imagine what it would be like with an elected VP who does not understand what her job is.

Every time I hear someone say Palin out trumps Obama in executive experience I laugh. "She's in charge of thousands of employees, and all Obama has done is organize a community," McCain supporters shout.

Obama went out into communities and made a difference. He organized a better way of life for people who need help. How can that be scoffed at?

Obama says he is running for president not for himself but for us, the people. I believe him. I believe him when he says we can change the way we do things. We can make education and health care priorities.

He talks of ensuring education to all Americans who truly step up and serve this country. I believe him.

The polls have favored Obama and it seem almost impossible for him to lose. Yet I cannot help feeling that creeping fear that soon I will carry three election scars not two. It's hard to relax when there is so much at stake and so much that can go wrong.

The outcome of Proposition 8 is another election fear harbored deep inside me. California must not pass an unconstitutional law into our state constitution.

However, being a victim in the 2000 election has not stopped me from believing in this country. Every voting day I take my election scars and head for the polls because that is the day I have my say.