So today is the day. I went to vote for the first time. Not exactly the same thrill as watching a Matrix movie, but a different kind of thrill.

4 years ago, when it was my first chance to vote, I skipped out on it. I decided not to vote, and so President Bush was elected for his second term. I wanted to vote for Kerry. It was a sad day for me. Nearly a year later, when Iraq was starting to heat up, I got a letter telling me to report back to the U.S. Army, "in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom."

Because I didn't vote for Kerry, President Bush sent me to Iraq.

Had I voted for Kerry, would things have changed? Would Bush still be president? Would I have been sent to Iraq? Who knows? But the point is, I decided to let someone else decide my fate. For that, I paid the ultimate price of silence. I was sent to Iraq for almost 15 months. I let someone else determine my life.

This year was different. I was hell-bent on voting. Never again would I let someone else send me to Iraq without me saying something about it.

My thrill was in knowing that this Democracy allows us to choose our own fate, whether for better or worse, but that it was my choice. So if there's something wrong in the governmental midst, I at least voted and had my say.

So for all you citizens who don't vote, don't let your future be decided by anyone else but you. I let that happen, and I got sent to Iraq.

Moral of the story? Don't get sent to Iraq!