With the upcoming 2016 election here in America, politics is in the air… for better or worse.

And I’ve begun to notice that this time around, many more of my friends and acquaintances are taking an active interest in the political landscape. More than ever before it seems and this got me thinking about how one goes through a journey as they submerge themselves into politics…

As for my own personal journey into politics, I credit my mother with its origin of moving me from passive bystander to informed doer. About eight or nine years ago, I noticed she had become much more interested in politics and the actions of our government and the discussions we had led me to wanting to know more. They also made it glaringly obvious to me that I had not taken much interest in something that I was finding to be of utmost importance – political affairs, especially those of the government who work for me.

My journey has taken me on many roads as I try to navigate the path I want to take. To date, Ron Paul has been the only politician in office that I have fully believed in. I hope more will be added to the list in the future…

Overall, I believe my political journey has made me a better person. Not only by becoming more informed, but by becoming politically active as well. After all, how can you make change if you don’t do something about the change you want to make?

It wasn’t a smooth road though. Passion runs high when one first embarks on the road of politics. And after learning about what is really going on, emotions will become intense. Not to mention with the advent of the Internet, which is quite new in the grand scheme of things, a wealth of information has never been so readily available. It all can come at you pretty hard. And typically, outrage will come. And you’ll want to voice it.

As I see my Facebook newsfeed light up with political news rather than mindless pop-candy, I am thrilled. It takes The People to make true change, not those in power, as both main parties continuously prove over and over again. But I also see a lot of blood boiling and anger running high, which led me to think about different stages of political growth…

POLITICAL GROWTH CHART

Infancy: Every sense is on overload and high alert. You struggle as you attempt to learn the basics.

Toddler: You tell everyone your opinion, which you think is the only one that should exist.

Child: You start to have some legs to walk on but you argue way more than you reason.

Teenager: You begin to appreciate differences in thought and opinion but still, you like things your way.

Young Adult: You accept that others think differently than you. Action replaces talking about what you are going to do or what others should do.

Adult: Your mantra becomes, “God [or who or what you believe in,] grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”