Today, I would love to be writing some post about how I did my country proud. About how I exercised my democratic freedoms and used the hard-earned right to vote.
But... with deepest shame, I am telling you: I did not vote today. I am not voting this year.
You may remember that since the last election I have moved twice. Which means I should have updated my driver's license. Twice.
(Updated to Clarify: to vote, I have to register in my current township... which is different than the one I used to live in. Which is less than 1 mile away. Weird but true.)
But here's the thing. On October 17, 2007, my life was very different.
My license had been expired for 3 days and I was a carefree 21 year old who feared that, if pulled over with a 3 day expired license, I was going to go to Jail.
Even though the card expired on my 21st birthday and the place had been closed for the weekend that whole time.
Didn't matter, I was sure I was gonna get busted and sent to the Big House.
But that's neither here nor there.
The girl in this picture was carefree and happy. Life had thrown a few hard punches her way but life was still really good.
Her highlights were growing out but it didn't matter cause that was very stylish at the time.
The state (country?) hadn't passed the damn STUPID law that makes you frown in your ID picture.
(Feel free to be jellus of my mad The girl in that picture is happy and gorgeous and smiling.
Within a month of that picture being taken my life definitely got turned upside down.
When I look at that picture it makes me smile... and it makes everybody with their new frowny-pictured-licenses jealous.
So I'm not voting today
But you totally should cause you're an awesome American.
And I have an awesome ID picture.
Please don't hate me cause my picture is cuter than yours (or cause I'm being a bad American).
Am I crazy or is this totally normal behavior?? What say you, internets?
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32 Classy Comments:
After our wedding I had to get a new license. Thankfully in the hick town around our military post, I was the ONLY one in the DMV that day. The kind old lady working the camera let me re-take my picture THREE times so that I could have a semi-flattering picture on my license. I will always love her for that. And dread the day my license expires...
I had the BEST picture in Florida. Then I had to change it to SC. It is blah! I dislike very much and now I am stuck with it for like 9 more years! GRR
you aren't ALLOWED to smile in your DL pic?! thank goodness FL isn't that way -- I had to get a new one in April after getting married and it's a darn cute pic if I say so myself =)
I had a fabu Florida ID. Now my Arkansas ID looks like I'm special.
I literally looked about 12 years old in my first license. Finally just got a new one this summer and it's definitely a decent photo, but I'm weirdly off center. It's super strange.
I need to renew my driver's license too, but I was still able to register to vote. Maybe it's a Massachusetts thing? I have no idea. But yeah, not voting because of your cute pic is totally understandable. One day of civic duty versus a year + of hotness verified by the government? I go for the latter.
Are you in VA? Or is there ANOTHER state that wont let you smile?
I have an Indiana DL too.. The no smiling thing is awful. My picture is horrible!
I want my old 16 year old license back where I thought it would be "cool" to wear a Jimi Hendrix shirt...
Atleast it was better than now!
I'd keep yours as long as possible ;)
I totally forgot to change my voter registration so I didn't get to vote this year too...but all my friends on FB did, so I lied and clicked the I voted button. Is that totally normal behavior?
My photo on my id is from when I turned 21 and I'm now 27. I've also moved multiple times. I just log onto the online dmv and change my address until my license expires I'll keep doing that. I like it because I get to keep the photo that's on there and I admit that I love it and get compliments on it as well. I had a great hair day that day and my highlights were beautiful
see if you can just go online and change your address without getting a new photo so that you can be a good american!
HOLD up Nellie, are you not allowed to smile in your picture in Indiana?! What on EARTH?! I like in OK where we are FAR behind in being allowed to have fun (i.e., wine is NOT sold in grocery stores, you can't buy alcohol after a certain time of night, etc.) BUT we can smile in our licenses!!
Are you kidding!? That is so damn pathetic. That kind of lazy vain apathy embodies so much of what is wrong today! I'm glad people fight for the rights and freedoms you're too shallow to exercise!
Are you kidding!? That is so damn pathetic. That kind of lazy vain apathy embodies so much of what is wrong today! I'm glad people fight for the rights and freedoms you're too shallow to exercise!
That must just be a state law, I haven't taken a new license picture since 2008, but I haven't heard of a law that says you can't smile!! Weird!
I am not voting either because I live 5 hours away from where I am registered --- my last place of residence before moving here. I know I need to register here, but I just haven't. If they would have election day on a Saturday, I might make the drive, but Tuesday makes it impossible!
UM I would smile anyway!!!!
My picture looks naked. :) They allowed that. hahaha
LOL! You make me laugh, Sarah. I didn't vote either, for similar not-up-to-date DL reasons! :)
Mean people need to chill out. I didn't vote because I would have to re-register in this county and I'm still waiting for my social security card with new name all sorts of crazy non-matching name documents. It's okay.
Can't you vote if your DL isn't up to date if you have a piece of mail or some other proof of residence? They allow that here in Wisconsin! I had to change both my address and name which could all be done on 1 form. It took me seriously 5 minutes to vote from the time I walked in to the time I walked out!
Follow you twitter, and never realized you had so a cute blog.
You Rock!
I hate the no smiling thing in Indiana - it killed me to get a new license right after they started that (for those non-Hoosiers supposedly the no smiling thing is so your picture is more compatible with face recognition software).
I'm in VA and they don't let you smile in your DL pictures either. Well, that law went into effect last year or the year before. I can't remember. All I know is that I have an "old school" DL and I'm hoping to hold onto that puppy for as long as I can because a) my picture rocks {teeth, dimples & all} and b) it doesn't look fake like the new VA licenses do.
Oh, and for what it's worth...I didn't vote either. ;)
*running away as fast as I can before people start hurling rocks in my direction*
This makes me proud (and embarrassed) being an Indo. 3 days expired and you're in jail? Here driving without licenses and if you get caught, just pay them 20 bucks. AHAHAHA :p
ps. I don't think I will vote either in the next election if I'm lazy.
I say, not normal. Well for someone in their 20's maybe, but not 30's. The older I get the more I realize how important it is to vote. LOL Sorry Sarah!
Haha love this! It made me laugh :)
Well, I hate to be the bad guy, but the "state" didn't pass the no smiling law. The representatives elected by the people of that state did. When you can't be bothered to fulfill your civic duty to help select those representatives, you make yourself sound awfully vapid and bratty by complaining about the laws they make.
I'm pretty sure that most representatives don't run on the "no smiling in driver's license pictures" platforms, so even if she had voted, she would have no idea which reps. would be against or for that issue. You know what's really vapid and bratty, though? Anonymous comments.
Amen Kristin.
Now that I don't have to make a snide comment about the anonymous commenter, I can move onto more important things like the fact that where I'm from we don't have townships. Moving North has been an eye-opener.
We can't smile in OH. I straight up look gangsta in my ID.
Here's the thing. That's the way this representative democracy that you're too fucking shallow to participate in works! Whomever in your state passed the law about no smiling in drivers licensces, was someone elected in one of those pesky little elections for which you are too vain to register.
And heaven forbid they pass a law designed to make government issued IDs more secure! You want to smile and surely that's what matters?!
If you don't like the law you could work to elect someone else! But wait...youu said it best yourself. You're what's wrong with the country! Nevermind!
By some freakish luck, by driver's license picture is one of the best pictures of me EVER. I'm holding onto that baby until they pry it out of my cold dead fingers.
I finally updated my DL address when I applied for the RN program. Of course, it was a month ago, so my voter ID card hasn't come in. :(
confession: i didn't vote either...and feel kind of guilty about it. but obviously not enough to spur me into action....
ps great blog! following you now : )
www.cailenascher.blogspot.com
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