"The last election — it was really my first time and I'd just turned 18. And it was, okay, here we go. And I didn't realize how much pressure I was going to feel when I'm standing right there and I'm looking at this ballot. And so many things that I don't recognize. And in that moment I realized I messed up. I need to do better. And educating myself on these things was the best thing that I could have done. Because I think putting your pride aside and saying I don't know, is something that's really hard for this generation. Once I got older and I got through that phase, I was like I want to help the younger generations that are going to step into this responsibility when they do turn of the legal age to be able to vote, to feel like it's okay to ask questions. No matter what's in the way, no matter what fears you might have, this is the one thing that we've got, and this is the time to put our big-kid pants on and do what we got to do. And really prepare yourself for what that ballot is going to look like because, again, speaking from experience, when I first went voting, I was nervous, I was scared, and I felt a little unprepared. And I knew I never wanted to feel that way again. So that also, I think triggered a 'Wow, this is the one thing we do got. This is one thing as American citizens we do have which is our right to vote.' Especially as a Latina woman, a woman of color, I got to step up."
