Finding a Republican on college campuses seems impossible. When I arrived at school, I was not that at all. I was a liberal. I was fresh off my support for Bernie Sanders - him dropping out of the race killed me. Senator Sanders ignited my love for politics. I remember watching him on Real Time with Bill Maher with my dad, and really not having an idea as to what he stood for. I just kinda knew who he was. Then I heard him speak, and I was reeled in like a flounder. I immediately signed up for his website, made my support of him well-known, shared stuff about him on my Facebook page, and fell in love with the idea of Socialism. To me, it sounded the answer to our crumbling economy, that the rich weren't being taxed enough, and that because of them, people were in bad economic standing. I was even calling myself a millennial socialist. I thought I knew everything.

Then I came to college. I had no candidate, but I was still passionate about my liberal ideology. I never saw myself agreeing with conservatives because that’s what I was taught in high school. I was taught that the world is liberal yet conservatives took what we had away. I stood behind everything. I depended on people who agreed with me said and I purposely didn't listen to those who didn’t. I was surrounded only by people who agreed with me, and I thought I was always right. Until I met a few friends. Friends who I thought at first were absolutely crazy because they were Republicans.

I always loved debating and discussing, but I was never an actual debater and I still am not today. I only wanted to be heard and whenever I disagreed with someone I shunned them and made them stop talking. I remember one night I was at my friends dorm and we were watching the Vice Presidential Debate, I at this time was not at all Republican, I still said I was Democrat, that’s all I knew. The night was filled with debate and arguments and losses for little old me and I soon realized my debating skills were out the window with these people. I just kept losing debates with them no matter how hard I tried and no matter the topic, I felt humiliated and stupid for my lack of reasons to back up some of my claims, and these “Republicans” were saying facts and some of mine just weren't good enough.

What was going on with the kid who could do this on a whim in high school? One night, my friend told me to look up a few things about the Democratic Party, I discovered the racism of the early party, the lies, and just pure ignorance of some of them. I do not mean that Democrats themselves are this way I just realized things that were out of my scope of knowledge. I do not mean to sway any reader of their opinions. This article is purely meant for telling a personal account.

Now here's the thing, I did consider myself a Democrat, but I was starting to lose faith in them. During this campaign season, I had no faith in Hillary Clinton, I never liked her. I didn't like her lies, her cover ups, and her history of bad judgment. I was at a political stalemate, I had no candidate, basically no party, nothing. It wasn't until one day when I took the iSideWith quiz again, and I was extremely shocked at my results.

I took my newfound knowledge of issues and incorporated them into my quiz. After I took it, I found out that I sided with mostly Republicans on certain issues. Here I was, questioning everything I have ever known, sending Snapchats of my results to my Republican and Libertarian friends and not knowing who I was anymore. I then realized that I might be Republican, or at least Conservatarian (Conservative with some Liberal viewpoints).

Telling my parents and my sister that I voted for Trump was difficult for them to grasp. My mother: the Democrat, my father: the Republican, and my sister: the liberal in training, were all shocked. My dad thought that I was crazy and that my friends “brainwashed” me. My mother was okay. She understood that I changed. My sister was not having it, she yelled at me and thought that I only voted Republican to impress people. This is where it gets difficult.

People stopped respecting me, I lost Facebook friends, I’ve been told by my fellow peers that my opinion is wrong and that people who agree with me are bad and it was all because I changed. It isn't the worst thing to ever happen to someone but it still made me feel that I was fake or stupid. Yes, I changed and I’m not afraid to admit it. I finally opened my mind. I listened to others. I realized many things about the country I live in. I let other opinions in, and I’m still me. Nothing else has changed, just a few opinions on certain issues.

Another reason why my college made me conservative was because my school is very liberal. So are most colleges in America, anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I love my school, my friends, my professors, and my peers. Conservatives are outsiders and it makes me upset because they did nothing wrong. They just have different opinions from the majority. Free speech is difficult when you feel everyone around you will judge you. I would go on and tell certain stories from my friends but I did not get their permission to mention them, so out of respect for them I will not go into details about their personal experiences. I can have a spotty memory at times and I don't want to stretch any facts or overstep boundaries.

I realized that when you’re a liberal in college, you only hear your point of view, which doesn't help you learn or grow in other ways. Now that I’m conservative, I see the world from a different perspective lens, I feel like I understand more than before, and that I can see things others can’t, not to toot my own horn at all. It doesn't make me smarter or better than anyone else.

To my Republican friends and peers, thank you for opening my eyes to the world around me. You guys have been amazing to me and you're some of the most intelligent human beings I've ever met. Don’t let the world stop you.

To any college conservative, I stand with you. Your opinion is important and so are you. Keep defending who you are and keep fighting the good fight. I hope this inspires fellow Content Creators like me to use their voice and make a difference.

This article is not meant to bash or trash talk any Liberal/Democrat I know, the town I'm from, or the high school I went to. I am forever grateful for each of them and I would never take advantage of their never ending support of my journey on Odyssey.