Making big sister proud

Yesterday was incredibly long. I was running on only a few hours of sleep, my professor not only failed to let us out early but actually kept us five minutes late, I had a pounding headache all evening, and I had the beginnings of a cold. But I stayed up until all the Obamas left the stage. I knew that later the fatigue and the headache and the cold would mean very little, but seeing history happen in real time would mean a great deal.

There were a lot of really important things going on last night, and I, like so many others, was amazed and moved by the results. I’ll let better writers tell the big story, but there is something that stood out for me last night on a personal level.

Four years ago, around election time, I was hounding my sisters to exercise their right to vote. One of them was still too young, but the other two were pretty apathetic about the whole thing. I sent them information on the history of women’s suffrage, I pointed them to the places they could find out if they were registered and register if they weren’t, I talked to them about the issues, trying to get them interested and informed. In the end, I think only one of them voted, and with little enthusiasm at that.

But this year was completely different. My youngest sister voted for the first time, and she made a point to be informed. She described the experience as "exciting." Another sister was even more excited and involved than I was. She volunteered for the Obama campaign, making cold calls, knocking on doors and driving people to the polls. She voted first thing in the morning, and she cried during Obama’s speech. My third sister happens to have a different opinion than me, but even she got out and voted this year. And the most incredible thing? She texted me last night to say, "I have to admit, I was grinning from ear to ear listening to our new president speak."

I think those stories, especially when compared to the stories of four years ago, say a lot about this election and what it means. I’m really proud of my sisters.

Edit: Turns out none of my sisters voted in the last election, making this year even more amazing.

Edit (again): Turns out one of my sisters did vote, it just wasn't the one I thought it was.

Comments

[Kerri Anne]

I love! voting stories (always, but especially) today. Especially first time voting stories. So very rad.