Every four years, many American citizens 18 years or older have the right to vote and make the educated choice they believe is right.
But what about three-quarters of the school who don’t get to share their most important opinions.
Even though most high schoolers may not be 18 and cannot vote, our futures are put on the line and our voices deserve to be heard.
These events and ideas are all seen as adult topics, but they jeopardize teenagers’ lives just as much. Project 2025, is a plan to cut women, education, Medicare, and LGBTQ+ communities short, and set the U.S. back in time. On the other hand, some attempt to argue the project is saving American tax dollars for treatments and support they may personally not need.
Elections are seen as an adult problem, but they can leave teenagers vulnerable for four years into their future. Always being shoved into the background, speaking on behalf of teenagers everywhere, we want to have control over our futures. Teenagers should have the right to grow up as they want to and live the lives they choose, without the fear that the next president will cut their dreams short.
Although I am just a 16-year-old sophomore in high school, this election will impact my entire future. Every four years, a third of the student body is silenced, aside from those 18 year olds, who are just two months older. These 14-17 year old high school voices should be heard alongside everyone else’s. Teenagers are still developing and trying to find their paths. Having the fear of what is going to happen in the next four years of their lives, which they cannot change or control, makes the path rocky and hard to navigate.
Being an assistant editor for the paper, I have seen and learned many new things while in this position. Some have left me shocked and others have left me scared. Learning about how some people view certain topics and having the availability of world-wide new every day of the week opens my eyes to a new level of maturity I never thought I would experience.
Teenagers all over the nation should take time to have this privilege for themselves, learning on their own and teaching themselves about the world around them. This way, by the time they reach 18, their voice can finally be accounted for and speak for those who are still put on the back burner.
The fear of growing up in today’s world is already expanding; without the ability to vote, it is so much worse. Watching my future from the sidelines, electing a new president means bringing in new ideas, new laws and new plans, while hoping they don’t fumble the ball.
Elections overall are not the problem and the voting age is not the problem either. The problem is teenagers’ lives are being dangled like a carrot in front of a horse, and no one seems to want to pull the string away.