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#IVoted — know that at some point in our lives, we waited 18 years to FINALLY wear a small circular sticker that tells the whole world we voted and post a picture of it on Instagram with a thumbs up emoji. But should 18 really be the legal age to vote? If you think about it, at 18 years old, our brains are still in the process of maturing from our teenage years, but who am I to tell you otherwise? Once the clock strikes midnight on our 18th birthday, we’re automatically adults, right? Ready to rule the world, do our own taxes, build our own credit scores and own a house, right? Let me tell you — as a current 18-year-old, that is not the case. I still have to call my mom to ask her how to do all these “adult things!” So independent, huh?

Voting is such an important part of our civic life. Not only do we contribute to our community by voting, but we are electing the next leaders who will represent us at the state and federal levels. Wouldn’t you think that voting for our next representatives requires maturity and political knowledge? I’d argue that 18-year-olds aren’t fully mature yet when it comes to these important decisions. However, I will say that we are a generation of activists and trendsetters. We really took it to heart when authority figures would say, “our children are the future,” because it’s true! Our generation can really start movements for things we care about.

Even though our 18-year-old minds may not be fully developed into adults yet, we sure know how to start a movement and encourage others to vote. That is why I believe the voting age should remain 18. Being able to vote in early adult years is a privilege because we are able to vote for leaders that will represent us in our later adult years. However, I feel there can be some resources to prepare 18-year-olds before voting. For example, some of the reasons that 18-year-olds do not vote is due to lack of voting knowledge. What I mean by this is some 18-year-olds haven’t been exposed to the system and might not know exactly how it works. Some possible solutions are incorporating at least one mandatory class for seniors in high school where students learn how the process works so that they can be ready for voting season!