Votes... Does Mine Matter?

I've been hearing a lot about how my vote is important (not just mine, but the vote of the youth in general). It's gotten a lot louder as of late, as there were a couple of booths on campus where they were trying to get everyone to register to vote. They seem to have done pretty well too, which is good for them. And I'm a big believer in the fact that we (as a people, especially the college-student demographic) need to vote to get our voices heard. And I'm not the only one to think this. Which is why my question today could end up raising some eyebrows.

Quite simply... does my vote really matter?

I mean, I'll vote for the candidates running for the in-state offices. But I'm talking about my vote for the president of the United States... the highest office in the nation. But does my vote have any impact? I understand the whole "if you don't vote, you can't complain" and all that jazz. That's not my issue. If you knew me, you'd know that I'd probably complain either way. I get that. But is anything going to come of me being a bit late to work (or voting late and missing all the TV coverage) that makes it worthwhile?

I live in Utah... a state that last voted Democratic in 1964, when Lyndon B. Johnson won pretty much every state. Voting for McCain is pointless because he'll probably roll in the state anyways (unless there are enough people upset about him beating Mitt Romney that they change parties... which is highly unlikely). Voting for Obama is pointless because, truthfully, he doesn't seem to have much of a shot (unless something "magical" happens). Voting 3rd party is pointless because we live in a country run by a 2-party system (good or bad is still to be determined). And as we saw in the Gore/Bush election of 2000, the popular vote is irrelevant because of the electoral college (bad idea, in my opinion).

I understand that my thinking is kind of bad... if everyone had that attitude, no one would go vote. I guess things might be different in a "swing state"... one where there might be some debate as to which candidate will win the state. I don't think Utah falls into that category. My goal isn't to discourage others from voting. In fact, I would love to go see everyone that is registered go and vote. The thing is, though... in the world with the electoral college... is it necessary?

I voted in the 2004 election. I was excited then... my first election. I was 18 and 2 months. And I voted. And as I watched the results pour in, I was reminded of watching back in 2000 and thinking that the whole process had seemed superficial... in the end, most votes seemed as important as what the average person thinks about the BCS (sorry, sports reference there). In other words... wholly unimportant. Gore won the popular vote. Bush won the electoral votes. Bush won the election. Making popular votes seem unimportant in the long run... and my vote just fits into that category. Anyhow, back to 2004... I saw the popular vote meaning very little (even though Bush won both, if I remember correctly) and really just lost all faith in it.

Does my vote really matter? Or will the electoral college just assign all the votes to one candidate regardless, meaning that my time could have been better spent watching and hoping that the voters in the swing states actually realized that their vote could count (at least more than mine) and took advantage of it?