A few weeks ago, I was contemplating posting a message on a Costa Rican forum about the country's upcoming presidential elections. The debate over who to vote for was heated, and I definitely wanted to put my two cents in.

But before I knew it, I was surfing Expedia's Web site, www.expedia.com, looking for a plane ticket home. Why post some message nobody will care about when I can charge $500 to my credit card to literally put my two cents in -- by voting?

Once I returned to Happy Valley, I wondered what exactly led me to voluntarily travel, spend money I don't have and lose much-needed sleep to go home and vote. Why if after all, like a friend told me, your one vote doesn't really count?

These elections marked the beginning of a new era, one in which the two traditional political parties, Partido Unidad Social Cristiana and Partido Liberacion Nacional had to make room for a third emerging power, Partido Accion Ciudadana. Think of it in terms of a hypothetical American election in which the Green Party and the Democratic Party are neck-and-neck with the Republican Party coming in fourth place behind an ultra-conservative new party.

In the past few U.S. elections, I couldn't understand why any American would not vote. But with just a 65 percent voter turnout last week, I can't understand why so many Costa Ricans didn't show up either.

Unlike in the U.S., the majority of registered voters in Costa Rica are young adults. But even so, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe we didn't show up to the polls because we were apathetic or maybe even because we didn't feel mature enough to make such an important decision.

A few weeks ago, Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke at Eisenhower Auditorium and reminded students that you cannot wait until you grow up, graduate, get a job and settle somewhere to vote. "You have to choose to grow up today," he said. And I agree. Like Americans, Costa Ricans are taught from childhood about the importance of voting. But in Costa Rica, it is regarded more as a civic duty than a chore. It may be hard to believe that your vote has any effect because it is just one vote, but it really does.

First of all, for me, voting buys me the right to complain. If the president is a bad one, I can complain that the winner was not the candidate I chose in the first place. Or, if I did vote for him, I can hold the winning candidate responsible for violating the vote with which I entrusted him.

Second, voting earns me the right and privilege to live in a democracy. A democracy is not a perfect system, but there are worse options out there. I never thought I would write something so cliche, but given the political climate of the world today, there is a lot of truth in this statement.

Third, voting lets me feel like I am doing something -- anything -- to try and improve the situation of my country and its citizens. There is something incredibly sad about literally watching the place that saw you grow up slowly fall apart.

Every trip back home, I see something new: A building that is no longer being kept up, a park where children no longer play because crime is rampant, my friends struggling to find jobs, my family struggling to make ends meet. Going home to vote was not a great expression of patriotism; it was literally the least I could do.

And we should all at least be taking part in elections, whether it is through absentee ballots, voting in the HUB or flying 2,000 miles home to vote in person.

It is our responsibility.

To all those out there who claim to be "apathetic," the most important reason for voting was summarized well by ancient Greece statesman Pericles: "Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you."

Much like President Bush's first election was surrounded by controversy, one of Costa Rica's candidates' possible re-election followed a dubious path.

According to our constitution, presidents can be elected for one term only. One of the candidates, Oscar Arias, a former president, convinced the Costa Rican equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court to allow him to seek re-election for the first time in our history.

Because I voted, if he wins, for example, I can take a stance against him and question his legitimacy given his challenge to the democratic institutions that gave him the chance to be elected in the first place. If I hadn't voted, however, I would have complacently supported his violation of our constitution.