Hometown - Day 8

If you are an avid reader of my blog (the few of you who I APPRECIATE SO MUCH) then you must know by now that I have a complex relationship to my identity and having a sense of belonging. Being an immigrant and assimilating to the U.S has been a never ending journey. But another journey is the one to my prior self, my core self, the Israeli in me. 
Today I got to experience my connection to THAT self.

My visit in my hometown was timely: today was the 24th Israeli Knesset election day. 
And I got to execute my right to vote for the FIRST time in my life. 

So, what was it like?
There was no line, the process took minutes, and all it included was picking a little piece of paper and putting it in an envelope. Simple as that. Nothing was digital and there was no earlier registration form or any such thing. It was easier and faster than ordering juice at the trendy juicery next door. This act of enforcing democracy and choosing leadership to govern a heavily conflicted country resembled how I voted for which boy to dance with in elementary school parties. It may actually have been easier. 

I felt joy, pride, and excitement when I picked up the paper with my chosen party and leader: a WOMAN who I've admired for a long time and who I think can bring immense change to a country that desperately needs it.  But hey - I am a realist, and I understand that realistically she isn't going to be the choice for most people in Israel. Maybe not now. Not yet. But with more people like me taking ownership of their right, their voice, their VOTE - she, or another inspiring leader, will.

I have hope. After all, democracy is about hope, isn't it?