Imagine the year is 2035 and the majority of us have children who are wondering what we were thinking in the year 2016, what factors we made in order to choose our president. While our 45th president was in office, they tore apart millions of families, drove our economy down the drain, and made it harder for the lower and middle-class families to go up in social status; however, it doesn’t have to be that way. Our president can be someone who cares for our country and its citizens, one who would welcome everyone in with open arms and help them achieve the “American Dream” that they have been dreaming about for ages. That person is Bernie Sanders.

Now, I know Bernie just endorsed Hillary Clinton for president earlier last week on July 12, but he’s not out of the race yet. The senator from Vermont gained millions of followers with millennials, just like me, in mid to late 2015 with his promises for equality for everyone, environmental caring and calling out Congress, unlike his counterparts. While the media was concerned about every sexist and racist thing that came out of Trump’s mouth, along with comments about Hillary Clinton’s wardrobe and emails; Sanders was gaining support.

State after state, Sanders was gaining more support among millennials and minorities- two of the biggest supporters a candidate needs if they want to last long in the race. Even though he had the majority of the support from the people a candidate needs, Sanders found himself being behind Hillary Clinton in states that he should have won. Little by little, it seemed that Sanders was losing his hold and Clinton gaining support, despite her numerous scandals that would have sent any other candidates career plummeting. On June 7th, 2016, everything changed for both Clinton and Sanders. Multiple outlets said Clinton had enough votes from delegates to become the Democratic nominee for president, making the hashtags #ThankYouBernieFor and #IGuessImWithHer start trending on twitter showing Sanders’ supporters thankfulness and their lack of support for Clinton.

I realize that Sanders does not have enough votes from the delegates to become the Democratic nominee for president (even though the delegates make their final decision on July 25) and the only two choices I’m left with are Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, I don’t know what to do. While I’m all ready for a woman president, I don’t want that woman to be Hillary Clinton, however, I think she is a better fit than Trump. I want to live in a country where the president who follows Obama genuinely cares about this country and wants to continue the success Obama has made to uplift the American people, as well as help, stimulate the economy. This country doesn’t need to be made “great again”, it already is.

If you're like many people who don't support Clinton or Trump, we still have the option to have a write-in candidate. Although the list is long, and we don’t know as much about every candidate as we do about Sanders, Clinton, and Trump we still need to vote. A wasted vote means, ‘I don’t care about this country, I don’t care what happens to it in the next four or eight years, I don’t care about anyone but myself.’ With choosing a write-in candidate for president, we can still proudly say: “I didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton” and “I didn’t vote for Trump!”

I watched my t.v. in awe as I saw Bernie support Hillary. As much as I didn’t want to believe what was happening, I was happy that we got the chance to see the glimmer of hope in a cloud of darkness that was the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He is a candidate who has fought and continues to fight for the rights of black people, LGBTQ, immigrants and the middle and lower class, so why wouldn’t we want him as the leader of the United States? There are people who say Sanders’ socialist views don’t make sense for the way America is, but there are also people who said we will never have an African-American president, but we have one and he’s been doing an exceptional job for the past eight years. Yes, change is scary, but Bernie Sanders is the change we need. So, thank you, Bernie Sanders, for helping millions of people feel heard and like they are a part of the American dream. Since this election is almost over, my only hope is that you run in 2020 so we can call you by your rightful title: President Sanders.