In the fall of 2015, I began following the campaign each step along the way. With New Hampshire holding the first primary, I felt a need and responsibility to follow the election. I believe I am the future of America.
I constantly watched the polls and was sure to learn exactly how the primaries/caucuses went. In the beginning I did not exactly know how the entire process worked, but I began looking up and studying nearly every candidate, watched the debates, and even visited Ted Cruz at Lindy’s Diner in Keene. I am fascinated by all the candidates and interested in watching each of them as their campaign succeeds or fails. Having New Hampshire as the first primary is very exciting. Living in such a small town and state, we really only get this much publicity every four years, at best.
Now that our primary is over, we have to sit and watch the rest of the campaign unfold. This is one of the cons of having our primary right at the beginning; we make the initial choice, but after that it’s up to the rest of the country. It’s not time to give up hope on America, even though with the current frontrunners, it seems like it. There are a few things I have noticed that have been major topics and issues in this election. A president definitely can positively or negatively change these issues, but the real power lies within us, The People.
What has happened is that many of us are so focused on finding the perfect president for the United States that we often forget that the government is run by us. However, I still believe we hold a huge responsibility to vote in the presidential election.
There are so many issues this country needs to resolve, continuous ISIS attacks seemingly every week, mass shootings, illegal immigration and skyrocketing health care costs. We need to do something about it. There are plenty of other things I could sit here and complain about, but complaining will never make a difference. One thing I’ve learned as a 17-year-old high school senior is that the people who make the biggest differences simply need to believe they can.
The people that make the biggest differences do not just sit and talk about the issues, but actually do something productive about it.
A president will not fix all the problems.
The fixes lie in the people. Yes, we can fix it.
The president is just one important person.
It’s us that really makes the change we want to see.
Kacy Sauvola, 17, of Rindge, attends Conant High School.