By Genevieve Adams

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In four years I’ll be 25. I will have just been cut off from my parents’ health insurance. I hope I will be financially independent, and if all goes as planned, I’ll have a job that doesn’t require me asking, “Paper or plastic?”

As these next four years go by, no matter what age you are today, there will be issues that arise that won’t necessarily be in your control. Rather, these issues will be in the hands of the government we choose in this election.

There’s only one way to ensure you will be happy with our government for the next four years: You can vote.

If you vote, you can say that you did everything you could to voice your opinion. You cast one more vote toward something that will ultimately affect you fiscally, socially and economically. That is a small way to impact the future of a country, but a huge right people in other countries are denied.

Whether you’re satisfied with the candidates or not, voting is more about the general kind of government you want.

What issues do you hold close? How do you think the government should circulate your hard-earned dollar? What kind of education system do you want for your future children? Should the government have control over women’s issues?

Think about what you’re passionate about. Think of which candidate best represents your views, and inform yourself. If you think you’re too uninformed to vote, I promise there is someone out there who is even less knowledgeable than you.

Even if just one of these issues makes your blood boil, it’s worth making your vote count. Our age demographic, more than any, is inclined to deem an absentee ballot too difficult to get or won’t feel like driving home on Tuesday. I guess because no classes makes for a relaxing day, right? Universities call off school for a reason.

Voter registration consultants loiter around campus to recruit one more voice because they realize how much this election matters to our future. They know that in four years, if you’re unhappy but didn’t vote, you have no right to complain about the consequences.

The government affects every aspect of our lives. Our political system is the reason why we’re known as “the land of the free,” and why we have an “American dream.”

If you enjoy these freedoms, you should help form the opinion of what America as a whole wants. This election is going to be a close one. Every vote matters. In four years, don’t look back and regret not doing everything in your power for the candidate you want.

This election is more than you. It’s your future, it’s your kids’ future, it’s how high your taxes are, it’s whether or not you can get birth control. Voting is the basis of our freedom — use it.