Although I had to look up the date (thank you, Google - November 3, 1992), I recall other details like it was yesterday.  Of course, I remember for whom I voted.  (Bill Clinton.)  I think back to my polling place and how I got there.  (The Potsdam [NY] Public Library, to which I walked.)  I even envision what I was wearing that day: a red with cream floral print above-the-knee skirt, a denim jacket over an off-white t-shirt, and brown ankle boots over cream tights.  (Get it? - red, white, and blue.)  And above all, I reflect on the excitement I felt, being part of a larger political process, united with millions of other Americans.

In many ways, I'm as excited for this Tuesday as I was 20 years ago.  But in many ways, I feel frustrated, resigned, and jaded - at the age of 39, no less.  This year has seen a long, bitter political cycle.  Last night my husband Chris and I were eating dinner while watching the evening local news.  Commercial after commercial saw one political candidate bashing the other.  It makes one just want to say, "Enough," and change the channel.  Except if you switch to another network station, you'll witness the same procession of advertisements.

If you've read my personal or #NunesClass blogs, you know I'm a big proponent of and participant in volunteering.  New York Times columnist Nick Kristof writes of the link between volunteering and happiness, noting the tremendous impact on individuals when working with others on a cause larger than themselves.  Now, I've volunteered on a range of scales, from serving holiday dinner to those less fortunate to working on a several-month-long community impact project with other members of a local civic leadership organization.  But I have to say that a different volunteer experience provided the most resonant example in recent memory of working on a cause larger than myself.

On Saturday I visited my local Obama campaign field office.  I had been intending to go volunteer for several weeks now, having first gotten involved with the campaign in 2008.  I worked for several hours as a member of a "Get Out The Vote" phone bank team, making phone calls to Ohio voters.  More than a few voters I spoke with voiced the same frustration with the tone of the political ads, sometimes with a click of the dial tone upon learning my affiliation but other times by sharing their aggravation.  Some were reluctant to share who they supporters, while others voiced their support for Obama.  There were perhaps two dozen of us at the Syracuse for Obama office, nearly all strangers, but all united in our efforts to help the candidate we support.  It was a powerful feeling.  And one that, no doubt, would be replicated within those volunteering their time at the Romney, Buerkle, or Maffei offices.

So, circling back to Election Day.  If you can, consider driving an elderly or housebound neighbor to the polls; or bringing some cookies to election volunteers when you visit your polling place; or if you have a few hours to spare before Election Day, even signing up for a shift at a local, state, or national candidate's headquarters.  But more than anything, I encourage you to go vote on Election Day, for whichever candidates you support.  Because the very process of voting makes you a part of something bigger, a part of something larger than yourself.

"Vote" image courtesy of the Town of Livingston, NJ; Instagram photos by the author.