Saturday mornings are my favorite. No busy morning chores, no morning classes, only the undisturbed warmth of my bed. But this weekend, it was different. I was woken up by the hubbub outside, bangs on the front gate and the loud miking.

I had just unbolted the front gate when a group of people approached me showing some leaflets, manifestos, the voting papers, teaching me how and actually whom to vote.

As I nodded my head obliviously listening to them talk about my supposed representative, I realized that the election was a great deal, at least to them. The excitement, the nervousness, the anticipation was palpable and only I amidst the crowd seemed to be utterly clueless.

But I can say that my disinterest is shared by the larger masses of youths with only a few exceptions; youths who neither have an idea nor care about what happens, who gets elected and who forms the government. Isn’t it detrimental that the youths who are considered to be the pillars of the nation have no care about who gets to build the nation? And why do most of us feel it unnecessary to exercise our right to vote?

Let’s start with the widely accepted notion- ‘What’s the point?’ What’s the point of voting to send the same old faces to form the government when you know that it is not going to change the next year? As a matter of fact, after the abolition of monarchy in 2008, Nepalese government has already changed hands nine times while China has seen only seven changes in government since 1951. These frequent changes of unsuccessful governments had led the youths to lose faith in the system, in the purpose of voting.

And then there is the question of marketing and dissemination of information. Traditional means of promotion is losing its touch. The youths today choose modern channels over television or newspapers and promoting the parties in newer platforms could actually be a huge advantage.

The process can be cumbersome. I myself had to miss my classes to get my voters ID card made and not everyone thinks that’s worth it. But I now realize that ignorance is definitely not an option. We keep complaining about the system but our participation in elections could be one tiny effort to set things right for ourselves. No matter how hopeless it might seem, let’s not lose faith in the system. Let’s show up this Thursday. Let us vote.