Tomorrow is the big day. The day we have been waiting for since January of 2007. The day for which Senators John McCain and Barack Obama have traveled from one end of the country to the other countless times. It is the day we will elect the next leader of our country. By all accounts, it is a significant day. On Tuesday, one ticket will have a great deal of celebrating to do, and the other will graciously bow out of the limelight. But what happens once Americans have cast their votes, and our new president is elected? What happens on Wednesday?

“Change” is the catch phrase of this election. Regardless of on which end of the political spectrum you fall, “change” is what you are hoping for from the next administration. Our differences arise when defining this “change,” depending on the vision voters have for our country. The way this election has shaped up, it seems a change of some kind is inevitable with either ticket.

But it won’t happen on Wednesday. On Wednesday, I’ll wake up and go to class. Americans from Oregon to Florida will make their way to the same 9 to 5 they’ve been working for years. Children will board the same school bus they have all semester to be seated in their desks by 8 a.m. Daily life, whatever that entails for each individual, will remain eerily similar to the way it is today. So when will it change?

Change doesn’t happen overnight. Change isn’t brought about by the president alone. Our first responsibility in bringing about change is to vote, and by Wednesday, voters will have fulfilled that duty. However, our responsibility goes so far beyond our vote. Step one is vote.

Step two is fulfilling our personal responsibility to enact change. If I want to see America change for the better, I have a responsibility to help bring that about. I think Gandhi would agree. As he famously said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Each person has a responsibility to share their resources with the poor. For some, this means giving money; for others, this means giving time. Each person has a responsibility to live within his or her limits. This means not spending beyond what we are reasonably capable of paying back. Each person has a responsibility to care for the interest of his or her neighbor. This means making decisions, both in our personal and professional lives, which extend beyond selfish individual advancement.

We need a leader who will work to bring about change, but democracy is, first and foremost, government of the people. Our leaders will only represent what we exhibit. We must first look to ourselves for this change, acknowledging our personal responsibility to make this a country in which we feel pride. As author Edward Everett Hale once wrote, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do.” Each of us can do something. So, what does happen on Wednesday? Well, that’s up to you.

Neily Todd is a senior in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at neily.p.todd@vanderbilt.edu.