Coming up on July 2 is arguably the most important democratic event for Australia by any measure – the federal election. So why don't we care? Perhaps because, for the most part, politics is boring. Boring, complex and, frankly, difficult. Even those of us who are highly motivated by an uncommon fascination with what our grey (mainly) men in suits get up to find it exhausting to wade through endless media releases and announcements to try to unpick all the political double speak and "on-message" sloganeering of the major parties. Your workload increases significantly if you even begin to look into the many micro-parties that will be vying for a Senate seat.

Clara Williams Roldan is running against Tony Abbott in the seat of Warringah. "I will never be as motivated to run as I am now," she says.

But, I think there's another reason. I would argue that many Australians do care – deeply. But they have been disappointed, over and over, by the procession of party-line perfect politicians who speak in slogans and sound bites, not sentences. I also think we're tired of the same two-horse race. And that is why I think it's really important to run, even in the face of such impossible odds.

So this is what I have to offer. I am a 24-year-old law student, but I have deferred my studies to spend the past six months working casual jobs to save up enough cash to keep petrol in my (old clunker) car for the duration of the campaign. And I can only do this because I have the support of my family, who have let me move home to live for free in the family home, with my childhood bedroom as campaign HQ. So far, most people wouldn't be too impressed with my apparent lack of the kind of experience many deem necessary to be part of the political process.

But, like anyone, there's more to my story than that. The four years I spent living in Indonesia as a child – during one of the most turbulent and politically unstable periods of our neighbour's recent history – taught me a great deal, particularly about the value of political freedom and the importance of using it, and reinforced a very strong feeling of gratitude for the opportunities I've had.