I always find it fascinating when I realize I’m growing up more and more.

You know, there’s that day you buy your first car, the moment you graduate high school or the time you pay for your first haircut. You think to yourself, ‘Dang, where’d the time go?’

I mean, yeah, it’s sad to realize my Spongebob-watching days are over (well, for the most part) and it’s sort of inconvenient that my mom no longer plans my doctors’ appointment, but it’s exciting, too.

My newest realization? I actually, care about politics.

I had just turned 18 when President Obama won his second term back in 2012 and, thankfully, I had a chance to vote in the election. But did I really care all that much? Was I hooked to political analysis pieces? Did I even know a majority of the candidates running behind Obama and Mitt Romney? No. No. No. Maybe it’s a case of me just growing up, but I think it’s more than that, too. I’m finding the 2016 Presidential Race flat-out entertaining. And for a lot of people, politics is usually the opposite – dull and boring.

I am new to this whole thing, but has there ever been a more outspoken racist running than Republican candidate Donald Trump? How about a farther left “Democrat” than Bernie Sanders? Heck, he’s a self-professed socialist.

The way Hillary Clinton has handled her email fiasco is laughable. Jeb Bush, once thought of as a dominant force in the field, seems like he’s clueless on how to handle Trump’s risen stock. Joe Biden hasn’t even announced he’s running and he’s jogging through crowds of people as they chant, “Run, Joe, run.”

And those are just the biggest names. Scott Walker, Rick Perry, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz also have loads of popularity and add to an overcrowded GOP field.

Democratic candidate Lawrence Lessig is a professor at Harvard and hopes to transform the political landscape by taking the influence of money out of politics. Imagine that…

I’m very far from being a political buff; I’m sure experts would laugh at this piece. But for me, it’s been fun to follow the race and we’re over a year away from Election Day. Everyday there’s a new headline. Everyday there’s a new rumor about another candidate running.

While it’s stereotypical to consider people in my demographic (18-29) as clueless, uninformed jabronis, there’s certainly some truth to that when it comes to politics. Just 45 percent of citizen youth turned out to vote in 2012, down from 51 percent, voter turnout figures show.

The field is filled with dynamic characters with high profiles. It’s not reality TV (close to it), but maybe this is the race that finally strikes some interest from a citizen youth like myself (18-29).

If there’s a political race to attract America’s undivided attention, you have to believe the 2016 Presidential Race is the one to do it.

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