If you were to see my past self from high school, you would see this apolitical Asian boy who had no motivation in the political environment. This was especially visible during 2016, where the presidential election between Trump and Hillary occurred and party line division grew strong. I would probably fall under the left-center spectrum, but the majority of the time I would not care about politics. It seemed that no one cared at all given the lack of voter turnout for the 2016 election. And after 4 years, it seems that a whole lot has changed about me. My only biggest regret in high school was not being out there in personality.
As I matured, I began to understand the intersection of politics and identity. For every day that passes under the Trump administration, I grew anxious, scared, and concerned for the people that are marginalized by the effects of corruption and greed by our politicians. The maturity of my character did not come from being more liberal, but by being less apolitical and apologetic with my ideals. There’s always respectability from both sides and I will acknowledge that, but I will never back down in fighting for the people who are unable to stand up against the unconstrained powers of our government.
Ironically, the major factor of me becoming very progressive was my Catholic Sunday school class. The discourse between my faith, my identity, and my political beliefs always made that class interesting, even though I hated going to it. Whether it’s the end of racial discrimination, improved sentiment with immigration, marriage equality for all, universal healthcare, and accessible sex education, I somehow related to each ideal to my faith and saw it as the most progressive way to lead America. Unfortunately, my family did not see it that way. How am I more Catholic than they are while all they do is shed prejudice and selfishness?
Bias aside, I voted today. To be honest, I could have slept in since I did not have classes today, but I decided to wake up at 7:15 am and drive to my polling place. The line was huge, like an anaconda in that one music video. Fortunately, it moved quickly and I got out of the polls in under 30 minutes. Twas fun and probably my 4th time voting! Anyways go vote so we do not have to complain or worry about America going into a deep rabbit hole of failure and embarrassment <3.
