I’ll probably dig myself in a big hole this week through my topic but I have had several requests from people wanting to hear my opinion on something with which our nation seemingly has been consumed.

You guessed it — the election.

I would like to start off by stating that personally I’m first to admit I am quite ignorant on this subject so it has bewildered me why people care what my perception is on this. Not to mention I’m not yet 18 years old, folks.

So, I hope I do not make any of you red-faced and mumbling under your breath. Perhaps the biggest of my fears is to have people perceive me from this day out as being the “dense girl who writes about politics for the newspaper.” Therefore I will try not to get too deep with controversial topics. With that being said, here we go.

When I first heard the historical announcement that Barack Obama was the 47th U.S. President, I had several emotions that overcame me. One emotion I did not have was shock.

Based on the results of several polls, it was apparent Obama had a chance to overcome the ever-popular Sarah Palin campaign. Yes, notice I said “Palin” for the simple reason that I believe people overlooked John McCain and voted solely for her, and this bugged me. She certainly caused a ton of hype and controversy from her not so clean family background, stylish high heels, and name brand glasses. But does this, ladies and gentlemen, mean she would have been a good leader of the nation? I think not. This does not mean I did not agree with some of the points McCain seemed to find important through his campaign because I respected his approach of “getting to the point,” which I believe came from his experience and wisdom, which go hand-in-hand with age.

On the flip side, there were a few things I appreciated through Obama’s crusade. One that hit the closest to home was his interest in the younger generation. He seemed to genuinely care about our thoughts and views on concerns facing our nation. This approach makes a lot of sense to me because several years from now, we, younger people, will have to make vital judgment calls concerning some of the problems we face today.

So, when it comes down to it, who would I have voted for if I had been of age? Honestly I’m not completely sure either way. I assume that if I had known I would have been able to take myself to the polls and cast a ballot, I would have educated myself more about the first African-American nominee and the wise, war veteran with a quirky vice president behind him. So, there it is. My opinion in a nutshell.

After all this, there is one thing I am 100 percent positive about. In 2012, when I cast my first ballot as a registered voter, I WILL be educated and I WILL stand my ground on what I believe in. You can count on it.

— Paige barnes