( CNN ) -- We grew up in project buildings . We grew up at the end of cul-de-sacs . We grew up five miles from the nearest house . We grew up in America . We come from backgrounds of luxury and struggle . We finished school with honors , and we dropped out . We voted for the first time , and we only just registered . We did n't understand red states or blue states . We understood that these are the United States . And as a generation , we millennials must be united in the fact that the collective power we possess will allow us to do great things for this country that we call our home . We must show this power en masse on Election Day , one vote by one vote . Millennials to candidates : Talk to us . We are bombarded with television analysis , newspaper opinions , blogs , tweets , Facebook posts , radio commentators and street corner preachers that all offer some perspective about who will decide the election between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov . Mitt Romney . Over the course of months , this commentary puts the power in the hands of various constituencies . Seniors in Florida . Independent women in New Hampshire . The unemployed in Ohio . Every day , some new group gets handed the magic wand that will choose the winner of this year 's battle . Opinion : Why this election is so personal . But , let me be straight . The battle begins with millennials , those much-maligned 18-to 29-year olds for whom so much is at stake . For this is our future . The future arrived yesterday , and the present presents us with an opportunity to dream big . Dreams that in reality will uplift our entire generation , not just a percentage of us . Dreams that are so deeply rooted in compassion , that there is no way we leave anyone behind . The undecided millennial . Our dreams from last night become our marching orders as we awake to the understanding that this election will be decided by millions of young people , our people , in states across this country . In Durham , North Carolina , a young woman will cast her ballot for the first time . In Columbus , Ohio , a university student will be the first in his family to vote in a presidential election . In Tallahassee , Florida , a young couple will enter that voting both for the second time in their lives , this time not just voting for themselves but voting for their child . Both campaigns have simplified their efforts to focus on 10 swing states . They will spend millions of dollars over the next few weeks targeting those states , as well as undecided voters . But some of us are not included in that game plan . Some of us were left off the roll call . You know what means ? 'Gen Xer ' Ryan makes case to young voters . That means , like Muhammad Ali said , we have the chance to shake up the world . Show them who is the greatest . Not just of this time , but of all time . Show up in numbers that no one can believe . Early votes . Absentee ballots . Election Day decisions . However you have to pull that lever , pull it . For this is our future . It is our brothers and sisters who are the ones coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq , many of whom feel like we have let them down . It is our colleges that are becoming too expensive for us to attend , leaving us with monthly payments that empty our bank accounts . It is our compadres who are impacted by the DREAM Act and want only to live without fear in a country they , too , call their home . It is our Medicare and Social Security that might disappear before we even make it to the finish line . It is our boyfriends and girlfriends who just want to walk down the aisle and say two simple words : `` I do . '' It is our planet that is being destroyed by big business and politicians with oily pockets lined with dirty coal . This is what is at stake . Not just an election to elect a president but an election to elect the destiny of our generation . Have the youth given up on Obama ? So , let us promise to each other that we will not sit this one out . We will not watch this one pass us by . We will not move on to the next one . We will cast our ballots like our generation depended on it . For if we depend on one another , we will be united . Not in red states or blue states , but in the United States of America . Michael Skolnik is the editor-in-chief of GlobalGrind.com and the political director to Russell Simmons . He is also an award-winning filmmaker . Follow him on Twitter @ MichaelSkolnik . Are you a millennial who will stay away from the polls this year ? Or are you raring to vote ? Share your take in the comments section below .
Michael Skolnik , editor of GlobalGrind.com , encourages the millennial generation to vote . Some say women , the unemployed or swing states will decide the presidential election . Skolnik argues that millennials have the power to sway the election results if they show up .