In the week of Nov. 7, the fate of several state propositions and representatives was decided by California’s voters—including myself and few other lucky seniors.

For us voting Royals, this election was our first time fulfilling our civic duty by casting our ballots. After reaching this rite of passage into adult citizenship, I wanted to shed some light on this important process for our under-18 Royals and find out how my fellow first-time voters felt about their experiences.

First, I turned to Adriana Arroyo ’23 to find out how she prepared to vote and how that impacted her decision-making process. When asked what steps she took to cast her vote, Adriana shared, “I did prepare pretty extensively, because voting is something near and dear to my heart. I prepared by doing in-depth research on most of the candidates, and by reading all candidate and proposition descriptions that came with my ballot before voting as well.”

Additionally, Adriana elaborated on why she believes pre-election research is necessary: “There’s lots of misinformation these days, and an informed voter is a voter equipped to change the world.”

Next, I looked to Joy Harfouche ’23 to give insight on how she felt leading up to and during the voting process. Joy recounted, “When I got to the poll station, I was nervous because I had never gone through the check-in and voting process before—even voting on the machines was a bit daunting at first! However, the poll volunteers were very helpful and I researched my voting positions before-hand, so by the time I had submitted all of my votes, I realized I had nothing to be scared of.”

When asked about how she felt post-voting, Reagan Beuerlein ’23 shared what emotions and lessons her first time voting left her with, illustrating how powerful and meaningful making your voice heard can be: “One word I would use to describe my first voting experience is proud. Knowing that I now can use my voice to stand up for what I believe in and for it to count, is probably the coolest feeling ever. Our country has so much room for growth, along with everything in life, so to know that I officially have a say it what goes on truly makes me proud. Once I was done filling out the pages and seeing my ballot get placed into the box, I couldn’t stop smiling!”

Lastly, Julia Clarke ’23 offered some advice to Rosary’s future voters: “For Rosary’s future voters, my advice is to vote no matter what. Register to vote when you turn 18, and use calmatters.org because it is super helpful. They offer quizzes that will tell you, based on your answers, how you should vote. Go vote, Royals!”

I think I speak for all of us first-time voters when I say we can’t wait to make our voices heard again in the next election; and to all the future voters out there, do your research and always use your vote!