I’m a co-author on a political blog and I have never voted in a general election.

Ironic as it is, it’s true. I am eighteen-almost-nineteen years old, my birthday is in August, and as such I have not been eligible to vote when election time has come before. However I think my experiences, and lack thereof, offer an interesting perspective on youth involvement in the political field.

During the years of tragic haircuts and iPod Nanos, I was never all that interested in politics. I figured it was something only adults were allowed to care about. I let time pass by, blissfully ignorant, until one day I realized I was seventeen years old and had no idea how my country worked. Thankfully my ‘berta education was there to introduce me, and in my final year of high school during Social Studies 30 I began to see that politics is actually pretty cool.

But that was only the beginning. I was quickly met with the fact that navigating the political world is not a simple process, especially for someone who’d never tried to do it previously. Ever since I started caring about politics I have been constantly challenged with concepts, policies, and names of processes that I have never heard before and/or don’t understand. It’s fun, frustrating, and fascinating all at the same time to try and piece apart the complexity of politics.

Often, though, I think it’s this complexity that turns youth away from involvement in politics. It can be overwhelming, and at a time in life when everything else around them is also overwhelming, taking on extra just doesn’t seem all that appealing. I think that’s why I didn’t think about politics for much of my adolescent life, because it was too much to think about and my brain felt already full. I didn’t understand how important politics is or why my opinion matters.

I have never been eligible to vote in an election before, and now that I feel more knowledgeable about my political stance and the political field in general, I am looking forward to when I can. However I know many of my friends and acquaintances who have been eligible to vote at the time of an election, but have done no political discovery for themselves. They end up picking the person with the funniest name, or that guy because he has a cool mustache, or that party because their mom/dad/brother/friend/etc. voted for them, or just not voting at all. It’s truly heartbreaking.

Encouraging youth to explore politics when they’re younger is important. That way when they become of eligible voting age and an election rolls around, they feel confident in their understanding and stance on who they should vote for. Discovering for themselves what interests them politically is a process that takes time and cannot be rushed.

As a young voter I look forward to when I get to cast my first ballot, and I look forward to encouraging youth to start learning what politics means for them before they cast theirs.

Disclaimer: Story of a Tory is in no way affiliated with the Conservative Party of Canada or any other political party, be it federal or provincial. The views of each author are independent of all other authors.