To me, voting is an opportunity to have your voice be heard; an opportunity to have your voice combined with similar others to make a sound loud enough for change. Voting is a way of power for the average citizen. One of the reasons America was made a democracy was because it was important to the American citizens that the government to be about and for the people. This is why the system of voting was established.

But my vote is more than an opinion, or even a stance. My vote is me exercising my rights as an American citizen. The United States of America prides in itself for its democratic government. We have a privilege that many other nations don’t have; the privilege to decide for ourselves for what we want in our government. Some countries, such as Russia and China, are ruled by dictators and the people have no say in the matters of their government. In these countries the dictator makes all the decisions with little or no consideration for what the people want. Other countries allow their citizens to vote but only allow one candidate to run for office. This is why it can’t be taken for granted, the freedom to vote. I believe that it is my duty as an American citizen to support the government in its democracy by voting. My vote will decide how my country will be run, what type of government it will have, and who will be in control.

Everyone who votes, in some way changes history; John F Kennedy was a legendary President but he wouldn’t have gotten to that place of honor without being voted into office. So, in a sense, the voters also changed history. I want to change history with my vote like my grandfather did with his when he voted President Barack Obama into office. To me, voting is an opportunity to have a say in the running of my government, a privilege not to be taken for granted, and a chance to change America.