The Reward System

I visited my own blog today and felt a bit like a failure, it's been so very long since I've updated. Believe me it isn't like I haven't had plenty to say. What with every network trying to rip out my heart with their series finales, or with the summer blockbuster season starting, or with all the interesting things I've been studying. But sometimes time and focus escape me, and currently my poor laptop has decided to hate typing the letter "A" which deters me from typing as much out of annoyance. Seriously you never notice how many times you type "A" until it stops working and then you want to sort of stab the little key that won't work.

But I actually didn't decide to jump on here and write tonight on any of those topics that have distracted me of late. Today, I wanted to write about voting because well it was voting day! I should explain off the bat that I'm not going to go into some in depth discussion on my politics, no sir. I want to talk about voting and voting day because that's the heart of the matter. Truthfully when it comes down to it, I don't care who you voted for as long as you vote (at least on voting day anyway, other days I care quite a bit about who and what was voted for).

I spent most of my day excited about voting. I'm aware that it's slightly strange that my uncontrollable grin only gets wider as I drive to my polling place, or as I get my ballot, or as I color in my little arrow line. Getting my "I voted" sticker actually leads me to skip, yes skip friends. Because my little white oval sticker declares as I so graciously put it earlier to someone as a functioning, caring member of my society. And this is what I've been thinking about since Monday night actually, the voting sticker. It's the icing on my voting day excitement that provides me with a great sense of accomplishment. Not that voting itself doesn't give me some sense of accomplishment because it does, but the sticker that's what makes it real. Because after I got my sticker, I drove a friend to her polling place and then we went to Starbucks where I proceed to ask my local baristas if they had voted. I text a few friends and reminded them that it was voting day and that they should jaunt down to their polling areas. I was like a one grinning get the vote out crew, reminding everyone that you get a sticker! Honestly I don't know if its some residual sense of craving physical reward from school when you got stickers on your papers as a sign of a job well done. Or if I just like stickers and small free trinkets that declare accomplishment of some sort (I also collect the celebration buttons from Disneyland). But if that's true for me then it must be true for others, because I doubt that the great U.S of A makes all those stickers just for little old me (though if they do, awesome).

Might it be that everyone likes the stickers? Are we a society that needs the rewards? The proof that we are active citizens? Better yet isn't it wonderful to think that in this age of fancy technology of interactive gadgets and expensive toys, we can still gain a true sense of enjoyment from a little sticky piece of paper? Its like the lollipops that the Doctor use to give you after a shot, a little something for all the trouble. So if you didn't vote today, remember the next time that polls open that if you go out of your way and vote (maybe even go the extra mile and be read your ballot books) that after those difficult moments of helping the district, the state, and the country make decisions YOU get a STICKER!