I felt the Bern, and now I'm with Her.

In April of 2015, a grumpy old man with wild white hair announced in front of a modest crowd that he would be running for president in 2016. He was unpolished and even stated he needed to get back to work. With the attitude of a man reluctantly rolling up his sleeves to undertake a Herculean task, he launched into a speech about the issues on which he would build his campaign. Income inequality, child poverty, runaway college tuition rates, Citizens United, the issues rocking not only the working and middle classes, but also young Americans. Towards the end of his humble announcement, Sen. Sanders mentioned the importance of running a clean campaign focused on the issues and not on personal, hateful attacks.

Like so many others, I was enamored with this man's entrance into the presidential race. Having been politically aware since the 2008 presidential election, I had a pretty firm grip on the issues most important to me and my stances on them. Bernie's message of running a campaign of compassion, equality, and reform resonated with me so much I moved on from commenting on politics to my friends and family or on social media. I actively began searching out ways to get involved in the campaign, trying to find out how I could help get this man elected. I had the honor of working with Kent State for Bernie Sanders, posting about primaries and meetings online and pinning up dozens of flyers all around campus. I signed up for campaign updates and newsletters, I shared articles and engaged even the friends who couldn't stand politics. This man, these ideals, truly spoke to me and to so many others. His long history of fighting for civil liberty coupled with his tireless work in Congress to enact change were a breath of fresh air into a tired and corrupt political system.

When it became evident that Hillary Clinton would clinch the Democratic nomination for president, it was time for some soul-searching. She was not the candidate Sanders supporters wanted. The suspicions she inspires can be difficult to overlook, especially in light of the recent leaked DNC emails. Her record, stained by past opposition to marriage equality and the vote to invade Iraq, does not sit well with so many supporters of Bernie Sanders. However, to hear people who are so fervent in their devotion to Sanders and his platform say they would rather vote for one Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton shocks and horrifies me.

You loved Sanders and his campaign for equality, his kindness, honesty, and his ideals. A man who championed compassion over division, and a man who understood the importance of change from within to enact change throughout our political system. Now, spurned as Clinton accepts the nomination, you say you would rather vote for Donald Trump? Does he somehow better represent your values? Does his message resonate more with Trump's than with Clinton?

Here's a brief refresher on the kind of man Donald Trump is, what his values are. He descended upon a golden escalator and announced his run for president. He mocked a disabled reporter because the man had written an unflattering article about him. He has, multiple times, retweeted white supremacists. He's had no short supply of horrible comments about women and even suggested "putting your wife to work" could be "dangerous". His comments about Muslims and Mexicans are not only divisive, but insulting on every plane. He swindled thousands out of their savings with his Trump University scam. Trump expressed that Russian hackers should target his political rival and claims the dictatatorial Vladmir Putin is a strong leader. And just in case you somehow manage to justify all that because you don't trust Hillary, remember Donald Trump also wants to "open up the libel laws" so that people like me who express negative views of him, no matter how factual, will live under threat of legal action from him and his staff.

I am not trying to say Hillary immediately deserves your vote. I am simply asking that you revisit your justification of voting for Trump, now that Bernie has lost this election season. There is no doubting that Clinton has the qualifications to be the president. And, in comparison to her main rival, Donald Trump, she certainly has the temperament and knowledge. Its clear a third party will not be winning this election. I ask that you reconsider voting for Donald Trump. Remember that this man will not only be president of the most powerful country in the world, he will have access to nuclear weapons launch codes. He will appoint a Supreme Court Justice.

If you truly seek to enact change and carry on the revolution Bernie has begun, then throwing away your vote or voting for a man so far and away from everything that Sanders stood for, I offer you another course of action. Vote for the candidate with experience and character that won't put the country to an end before their first term. Then, vote. Find candidates for your local and state representatives who campaign on messages of political reform and equality. Join their campaigns, spread the word. Work to get those people into office and work to bring about the change you demand from within. If that's not enough for you, then do it yourself. Study up, get the experience and sharpen your talking points. Bernie himself has even said his supporters, concerned for America's future, should run for office themselves.

Bernie's revolution has not ended, don't let Donald Trump's reign begin.