As we all have seen, this year’s elections have been the topic of every news media outlet. For many of you, like me, this will be your first time casting vote in a major election. I personally have always had a strong interest in politics, even at a young age. In the environment in which I grew up, my liberal views were not common and I felt marginalized in elections because I didn’t reflect the same views as my peers and their parents. This election is very different and slightly frightening for the following reasons:

1. News media outlets are not focusing on the good that the current president has achieved over the past 8 years which ignites the need for change.

2. We have witnessed an overwhelmingly large number of candidates run for office in the republican primaries. There was a total number of four candidates running during the 2012 primaries. The 2016 primaries had 11.

3. We have a reality TV star running for office. This honestly seems like it would be the premise of a "Simpsons" or "Family Guy" episode, but sadly it is not: it is the 2016 presidential election.

4. The reality TV star WON THE NOMINATION. As if it were not frightening enough that he was running for president, he actually WON THE NOMINATION.

5. We have witnessed a candidate specifically say sexist and racist things and THAT helped grow his following. There was a candidate back in 2004 who screamed too excitedly during a speech and lost the nomination, Dean Howard. But we can have a man who is openly sexist be the republican nominee? Yes, yes we can.

6. Bernie Vs. Hillary. Rather than the democratic party rallying together to stop a maniac from running for president, they spent the past year breaking down each other. They left us in a panic not knowing who to trust.

7. Bernie is with her. Now that he lost the nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders supports the very same woman he called untrustworthy and unfit for the presidency. This is terrifying because they are trying to unite the party only now after months of dividing it.

8. We had a nominee who was under investigation by the federal government. Even though she is the first woman to win the nomination of a major party, she is overshadowed by the fact that she had 30,000 emails that were deleted.

9. We made history and we don’t care. In 2008 we made history with president Obama as the first person of color to be the president of the United States. In 2016, we again made history by having the first woman to win the nomination for president by a major party, but it doesn’t have the same effect because there's too much negative press about her.

After witnessing all of these events over the year it is really hard to be exited about the election. I have people telling me that my vote is important, but it is hard to believe this when I have a hard time trusting either candidate. Voting is a really important part of our government, and it is our way of voicing our opinions. Even though we feel like our options are limited, we should try to cast our vote in November for the choice that is best for us.