I had a fun fourth of July - I saw friends, caught up with people I hadn't seen in a while, and for once, tried to be optimistic about my country. It ended up being a great day, and I posted what I felt was a very cute and non-controversial picture of me and a bunch of my girlfriends behind an American flag. I captioned it with a tweet I had seen the day before: "How does one celebrate the 4th of July without supporting one's government?" I thought it was a funny and lighthearted jab at the current, disheartening political climate - however, I got a response to my caption that read, "not like this."

If you know me at all, you would know how hard I try to be outspoken, to do my part, and to respectfully share my opinion, both in person and on social media. I hold myself to a very high standard of political intelligence and make a constant effort to try and understand opposing opinions (although doing so proves to be extremely difficult). And lately, in doing so, I have been feeling increasingly defeated with how I choose to deal with social/political climate. It's hard when people outright disagree with you on a post you were proud of. It's sad when a picture that initially made you so happy makes you sad or even embarrassed. And it's really, really hard when you hold yourself to such a standard of being woke, and someone invalidates that with a three-word comment.

But, you know what, I'm glad that she said what she did. Maybe, my post was problematic. Maybe, celebrating the fourth of July with short shorts and basic glasses and maybe even a bit of booze isn't the right way to celebrate when you don't necessarily support your government.

And maybe, what I posted was not even my opinion. The government is huge - just because I'm unhappy with who's currently in office doesn't mean I don't support my government. Whether we like it or not, that's the way it is, and we must support our government if we ever want it to become better. The only way we can expect anything to change in this country is to foster conversation about the things we're unhappy with: not accusatory, negative conversation, but respectful, educational, and understanding conversation.

So, to the girl who commented on my post: no, the way to celebrate my country while still holding it to a higher standard of action may not have been the way I chose to. But it was what I chose, and that should be respected. Additionally, if you had a problem with that or with my post or even me in general, talk to me directly. Don't try to slay me on social media, don't just disagree with me for the sake of disagreeing. If you really have something you'd like to talk about, I would love to hear. Please talk to me. This is the only way we can ever expect anyone to change for the better - expressing your opinion to them in the pursuit of understanding. They may still disagree with you, but that's not the point. Understanding is what we lack in this divided country of ours: one that, by the way, I do still love. This country has given me a lot: the right to peacefully protesting at the women's march, the right to celebrate all sorts of love during pride, and the right to write this article. It has given me the opportunity to be educated on these issues and beliefs that I fight for. It has given me a ridiculous amount of privilege; that, unfortunately, many people who share this same privilege around me fail to realize it. I sometimes fail to realize it, too. But I try.

You hear that? I try.

I am not perfect. I don't always live up to the standard of political action that I impose on myself. I don't always make the right decisions, I don't always have the best conversations, and I really, really am not always able to keep a level head when I'm angry about something I'm passionate about. But the important thing is not that: it is that I am passionate at all, and that I'm trying.

So, I will keep trying, I will keep posting, and I will keep fighting in the pursuit of understanding. I encourage you to do the same - positively, peacefully, and imperfectly.

And, no, maybe the way to celebrate was not like that - but articles like this certainly may be how.