Recently, political discussions in my family have been ramping up. This gave me time to reflect on my political journey, and I’ve come to the conclusion that not much has shifted, other than I gained the ability to research and understand what was going on politically a little bit better than, “well, this is how I think it works, and therefore works because I said so and not the 250 years of history that defined the system”.Â
I’ve always had at least a small interest in politics, starting with the 2012 presidential election. The political system that existed in the United States was just beginning to be explained in the most basic terms to seven-year-old Ella, and because it was something I had very little knowledge of, I was invested in finding out more. It started with my parents having the news on in the kitchen when my brother and I got home from school. It grabbed my attention long enough to watch and discuss what I was seeing and hearing with my mom in the kitchen before transitioning to homework and other after-school activities.Â
One day, I asked my mom if we could go on an evening walk, and my mom brought up my interest in politics in the form of “what would you do if you were elected president?” Seven-year-old Ella had some answers to these complex problems, most notably “everyone who is homeless and doesn’t have a job should be offered a job, starting somewhere, maybe garbage truck workers or something else that’s less dangerous”, my mom continued to ask questions, and when I asked her if she would vote for me, not because I was her daughter but because I was a good candidate she said yes, and I moved on from the subject. Barack Obama was elected president. My parents liked him as a candidate, which was enough to satisfy elementary-school me, given the little I knew about politics.Â
Now, fast forward to the 2016 presidential election, sixth-grade me was even more invested because she understood more, and there was the potential for the first-ever woman president to take over after the first Black president. That and Donald Trump gave me the gut feeling that he was the creepiest man in the world and knew less about politics than sixth-grade me. My dad, however, had decided that giving Trump a shot was worth it and was voting for him. I was a sassy child and refused to vote with him as I had done since kindergarten. When Donald Trump won the election, I cried at 2 a.m. when I found out and proceeded to give my dad the silent treatment until he sat me down and talked to me about why he voted the way he did and why it made me so upset.Â
As someone who used to buy tampons despite not using tampons myself in case one of my friends who used tampons forgot one and needed one, my views are more left-leaning, “crazy woke liberal,” if you like my aunt and uncle’s terms. I believe in access to healthcare and that everyone should at least have equal access to opportunities to follow their dreams. I try to learn about the things that I don’t know about, and I love talking to people who are different from me. It gives me a wider perspective and better understanding, which only further confuses me on how those different from us can be made out to be such horrible monsters for being different, and instead of chatting and trying to understand their perspective, rumors and stereotypes fly around and divide people.Â
With this past election, I was able to vote for the first time. I know that seven-year-old me would be over the moon to hear that I was able to vote for a woman in my first election. She would also be devastated to hear who the current president is, but that is a problem current me is attempting to tackle. I am not always the most educated in current affairs at all times and still have a lot to learn about the political structure that exists. I don’t believe in perfect humans, but I do believe in the power of difficult conversations and being able to understand different perspectives. So, until I know a little more, that will be my focus for the foreseeable future.