Since I was a child, I had always been interested in the history of our country. In school, Araling Panlipunan was one of my best subjects. I was always fascinated by the evolution of people and their governments.

This led me to love the arts, speaking in front of crowds and learning about laws.

This may also have stemmed from my closeness with my grandfather, who was once a judge at a regional court. He taught me many life lessons and was waiting with me for the day he could see me contribute as a voter. My grandfather was a very knowledgeable man, sadly he passed away last year before he could see me vote.

The one thing I both loved and disliked about our presidential elections is that it would always fall on my birthday, May 9. The first time I was old enough to truly be interested in politics on a better level was in 2016, when I was 13 years old. I was too young to vote but I slowly started to learn more about the changes elections brought forth and how much that could affect all Filipinos.

Fast-forward to six years later, I turned 19, celebrating the elections and my birthday on the same day—a truly wonderful gift to give a once Humanities and Social Sciences track student now in Liberal Arts.

Hopefulness

I did my research, supported my candidates, not because I was a fan, but more so because I believed in the brighter future of my generation and future generations with them. I bonded with people my age and older who were able to understand the feelings and hopefulness we had about election season.

On Dlection Day itself, however, the first-time voter jitters did get to me. The process was long. I waited in line for more than an hour. I heard about broken vote-counting machines and/or SD cards and ballots not being read at once. Fortunately for me, the volunteers and officials at my precinct were very welcoming and taught me what I forgot to do. My ballot was also read correctly without a hitch.

I felt very fulfilled as a voter at that moment. I felt the surge of hope once more.

But no one can prepare you for feeling uneasy and anxious, for the doubt and fear that you feel when a candidate you do not believe is fit for the job is winning in the unofficial vote count. I felt uneasy on the night of my birthday, but still my hope lives on. We may not win but we will still fight for a brighter future for our generation and those to come.

I believe that my fellow youth and other first-time voters should not be totally disheartened. Yes I did feel that way and yes I did feel like the world was crumbling, but as long as we speak up for good governance and study hard to earn our diplomas and help our fellow Filipinos who have no voice, I believe that good governance will never die. It will not die at the hands of our generation, as long as we are able to fight.

For now, we grieve, for now we rest, but as the Taylor Swift song goes, “Only the young, can run,” and so we must run forward to a good and brighter future we will achieve someday. —CONTRIBUTED

The author is a 19-year-old student from Quezon City.