Rite of Passage

It’s ironic the first time I've ever gone to castle park family fun center was to vote, a very adult rite of passage in a place that holds the captured joy of children. I walked up to the door, where a women dressed in black asked my for my address, I gave it to her as I awaited her response, for some reason nerves were getting the best of me, and worst case scenarios echoed in my head. She smiled at me however and said “O.k. 16 at the very back.” I walked through the doorway and walked up to the counter I gave the volunteer my last name. She scrambled around trying to find my name with no luck she began to ask the other volunteers.  I went to the correct voting place so my address was the saving grace. Once she located my address she said “this is a probationary ballot”. Her explanation gave me another sense of dread. “This ballad will be counted after all the other ones” she said. After the gave me the proper paper work I walked to the very last booth in a tiny cramped room which held neighbors I have never met before, and probably will never meet again. I grabbed my pen and started casting my votes. I was well prepared compared to my first time voting years ago when I had just turned eight-teen. It took me about 5 minutes to mark the 4 sides of information. Once I turned in my ballot I clarified once more what would happen to my ballot. Apparently probationary ballots are counted after all the regular ballots for those who had no issues: such as address changes or un-mailed voter information. My ballad has a tracking number and most certainly counts. As for my vote for president I'm keeping that a secret for a long time. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing now Barak Obama, Mit Romney and Mark Takeno will not be calling me or reminding me how important my vote is.