Normally when a group of friends is planning an outing and one of them has to cancel because they have to work, everyone goes “Awwwwww.” When I have to cancel due to work everyone goes, “Ugh Lucky,” and I respond, “Mhm I know.” How is it that my friends are jealous of me? What job could I possibly have that’s better than hanging out with my friends? These are very good questions, oh dedicated reader. The answer is simply, HeadCount. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose purpose is to register people to vote.

Over the past 10 years HeadCount has registered over 500,000 voters. I have the incredible privilege of being a Field Organizer/Team Leader with HeadCount, which means I organize voter registration drives in unconventional places such as concerts, music festivals, art museums and even Starbucks. The reason my job is so great: I get to go to all these events for free. And I get to do something monumentally important: Registering people to vote.

Did you know that only 55 percent of 18-24-year-olds are registered to vote? This is seen in Florida especially, where the voter turnout is disturbingly low. Gen-X, Millenials and Gen-Z make up a whopping 52 percent of Florida’s population, but only 56 percent of voters under the age of 30 turned out in the last presidential election. As my generation slowly becomes of voting age, things are changing. Out come new activists using their voice and refusing to stand down, 18-year-olds leading organizations, millions of young people registering to vote, informing themselves of what’s going on in our nation so they can change what needs to be changed. We have Millennials running for office, managing campaigns, canvassing neighborhoods. No longer will we sit around and take what comes our way; we will carve our own paths for a brighter tomorrow.

As an 18-year-old, I’m carving out my bright path by working with HeadCount to register voters.

I’m doing what I love. And as they say, “If you’re doing what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

If you’d like more information on HeadCount and how to volunteer, head on over to HeadCount.org or you can email me at [email protected]

“The changing of the world doesn’t happen on its own. Passion is the lifeblood of a movement.”

Ariel Feldman is 18 years old, and a recent graduate of Calvary Christian Academy.