In this special edition of Her Campus’s Dorm Diaries series, Gen Zers from across the country share their experiences on Election Day 2024. You can read more Election Day Diaries here.
I’m a senior at Kent State University majoring in Applied Communication, and I’m also the president of the Her Campus chapter at Kent State University in Ohio. I’m 22 years old, and this is my second time voting in a presidential election. This election, I am voting for the candidate who stands for equal rights for all — Kamala Harris — and the rest of my family is voting the same way as me. I feel especially called to vote on issues such as reproductive freedom, as I have a chronic illness called endometriosis. To comfortably live my life, I need safe and easy access to reproductive health care in all forms, and any restriction on this could be detrimental to myself and many others.
I also identify as a queer woman, so seeing my rights on the line like this is something I feel I need to voice my opinion on. I want to see a better and more equal world for all. My school is mostly liberal-leaning, but I’d say we still have a pretty diverse group when it comes to politics — especially for this election. My feelings towards this election are hopeful, but nervous. Here’s how I spent Election Day 2024.
8:30 A.M.: Wake Up
After struggling to sleep the night before, I woke up to my daily alarm. The anticipation had kept me up, but I was glad to still get a bit of sleep before this busy and stressful day! Overall, I feel nervous but a bit excited to be voting in such an important state (my home state of Pennsylvania) and election!
9:30 A.M.: Get Ready For The Day
I forced myself to finally get out of bed after doom-scrolling on pretty much every social media platform. In the shower, I was able to relax and clear my head a bit, which I am grateful for. While washing my face and styling my hair, I watched some YouTube videos to give my brain a break from this anxiety-inducing day. For my outfit, I decided to go comfy and wear something that would bring me joy — my Conan Gray oversized tee and some sweatshorts.
10 A.M.: Her Campus Internship Shift
My shift today was a short one, but it definitely helped get my mind off the day at hand. I worked on just one project, but it was one that required attention and creativity. My supervisor and I briefly discussed the election before I started my shift, and I’m happy to say that my internship was a much needed break from the day ahead.
12:30 P.M.: HEAD TO Class
Unlike some schools, I still had class today. I go to school at Kent State University, so my classes actually take place on a historic landmark, Taylor Hall. The field in front of Taylor Hall is the site of the protests of the Vietnam War that caused the May 4 shooting in 1970. Today, I feel a sense of empowerment attending class in such a special place, and I hope that I can honor those who lost their lives that day in today’s election. The tragedy of May 4 inspired the move to lower the voting age to 18, as students were upset that they could not voice their opinions in any way other than protesting. I feel honored to be a part of such a special community when it comes to elections and using your voice when it’s most important. My class was able to provide a small distraction to the day, and I stayed after to talk to my professor and chat about our predictions and hopes for this election.
2 P.M.: Drive home to PA
My hometown is in Pennsylvania, which is a really important state in this election, so I made the choice this election season to drive home and vote in person. Kent State is a little over an hour away from my hometown, so I stopped at Dunkin for a snack and turned up the music. Some notable songs I screamed along to were: “Dancing Through Life” from Wicked (SO excited for the new movie), “That’s So True” by Gracie Abrams, “Sexy Villain” by Remi Wolf, and “I Know A Place” by MUNA (very fitting for today…).
3:30 P.M.: Vote with my family!
My mom and siblings met me at our polling place so we were able to all vote together! This was the first time we were able to do this, and it felt so amazing to share this experience with them — especially as my sister is a first-time voter! I live in a pretty small town, so the lines weren’t that long. I think I waited 20 minutes at the most. I felt a sense of pride as I grabbed my ballot and headed into one of the booths to cast my vote. Afterwards, I chatted with my family for a bit before making the drive back to Kent to watch the results come in with some of my closest friends.
4 P.M.: Drive back to Kent State
On my drive back to Kent, I had a craving for a comfort meal. I made a stop at a fast food restaurant to get a chicken sandwich with a large fry, because that large was so needed after today. I put my November playlist on shuffle and sang along to some of my favorite songs to pass the time while driving. It was a lot of driving for one day, but worth it.
7 P.M.: Hang out with roommates
After my long drive, I chatted with my roommates. The conversation was mostly around politics and the election, but we did have a few moments where we got away from it all and shared some laughs. I feel lucky to live with people who share the same views as me, and can provide comfort during this stressful day.
8 P.M.: Friends arrive for a watch party
I sent an invite to some of my friends to come over for an election watch party. There’s truly strength in numbers and friendship on days like this.
8:15 P.M.: Watch election reports with friends
My friends and I chatted as we watched the results start coming in. It’s still pretty early in the night, so there isn’t too much to predict. We chat about our days and share our thoughts on current events.
9 P.M.: Play games with friends
My friends and I decided we’d been staring at the news for far too long to do us any good, so we decided to play some games to boost our spirits and get our minds off of the election — even for just a short while. We played two card games, Stir the Pot and For the Girls. I think we appreciated how simple and distracting these games were during this time.
10:45 P.M.: Filling up my wine glass
My friend gave us an election update and I immediately went for my bottle of wine.
11:30 P.M.: Watch TV
We watched a Disney short with a Boston Terrier and my roommate’s dog (a Boston Terrier) got so excited. It was like he realized it was a dog that looked like him on the screen, and he ran up to it! We definitely needed that cute moment. Then we watched Tangled, which I’d say is one of the best comfort movies out there.
11:48 P.M.: Election Check In
Kamala hit 200 electoral votes. Feeling a bit more confident, but still nervous.
1 A.M.: Friends Went Home
After the movie ended, we decided to call it a night and my friends went home. I wished them a good night of sleep and hoped for positive results in the morning.
1:10 A.M.: Get ready for bed
I threw myself into my bed and scrolled on TikTok and Instagram until I was too tired to continue on. I forgot to wash my face, but my mind was elsewhere.
1:45 A.M.: Fell asleep
I feel asleep feeling confused and worried.