And so, it begins...

Well, this is my first blog entry at progressive-U. My first blog entry ever, really, but I've decided it's finally time to give it a shot. My name is Kathryn, here known as Katwiz. Katwiz is a mix of Kat + wiz(ard) and also twiz is short for twizzlers, my favorite candy! So obviously I put way, way too much thought into the name. Oh well!

I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things, which is utterly cliche in itself but also totally true. I'm going to try and post here on progressive-U whenever I feel like ranting my opinion off to someone, or just when I want to talk about an issue I found, personal or political or something completely unrelated but nevertheless interesting. To start off my little blog, I'm going to start with a little personal observation.

It's that year, of course. Election year. And the War for the White House has already begun. I've never seen an election quite like this (which, honestly, isn't saying much considering I'm only 16). But I've never seen something so wide-open. Or so involved. I don't know what makes this year different than the last, but it seems everyone is a lot more involved in this election. People what Change, they say. For good or bad? Who knows. It's all a matter of opinion, and everyone at my school is talking about it. But up until today, it's just been talk. Just a simple topic of conversation. But during lunch today, I had a rather shocking conversation with one of my friends. We talked about the election, of course, but this was more than just a simple talk. My friend, for reasons unknown, felt the urge to shout to the world his opinions on the different policies of the candidates. We started talking about Hillary Clinton, and I mentioned in passing how Clinton was my least favorite candidate by far. This was before I realized that my friend was a devoted Hillary friend, and my comment seemed to offend him greatly. My simple opinion lit the fire for a huge rant, and I had to listen to my friend attack me on my reasons for disliking Hillary. When I first kept silent, my friend assumed this meant I had no reason for disliking Hillary, and basically said I was a biased Republican. But when I finally gave my opinions, my friend immediately launched into another rant attacking all of my opinions, utterly bombarding me and reducing my opinions to shreds. I felt a bit like Hiroshima as it was being bombed. I argued with my friend before eventually storming off, shocked.

I had no idea that politics could have that much power over a person. I've had plenty of political discussions with my parents, but never with a friend. And this was a good friend, too, but I left that cafeteria hating him. In my anger, I told myself I was never going to speak to him again, and I hated him for arguing with me like that. But after cooling down a bit, I realized what I was doing. I actually wanted to check a person off my friend list simply because of politics! Politics! I was so completely surprised. Just because someone has a different opinion from you doesn't mean you should hate them for it. I eventually made up with my friend later that day. Well, not necessarily "made up", but I approached my friend after school and talked to him as if the argument had never happened, thereby signaling that the whole debate was over and done with. Moving on.

But I can't move on completely, because I can't help feeling that the fires are just starting. I've been trying to keep up with the election process, and I'm surprised at how much debate is going on so early. Last election, I hardly knew anything about Gore or Bush until a few months before the election. But this year, people say there is going to be a Change. Debates are hot and people are dividing, throwing politics at each other, now even in a school cafeteria. I'm sure my friend's outburst was just a one-time deal, but I have to wonder. This election process is going to be interesting the whole way through. I'll try to post my comments on it as I watch America progress towards November.