Politically, I consider myself to be pretty openminded. I am a registered independent and I am able to see both Republican and Democratic perspectives. Though I align strongly with a certain side on certain issues, I still believe that I am able to see both sides of the aisle. In the past years, elections have tended to be pretty predictable. We were able to see right off the bat who we thought would get the nomination from each party. For the first time in recent history, this is not the case. After examining both sides of the aisle, I can honestly say that there is not a single person that I feel is fit to be the president. There's so much hype surrounding candidates on both sides and it saddens me that the American people are buying into it.

When I first found out that Donald Trump was running for president I really thought that it was a joke. So, I laughed. I laughed at all of his childish antics while thinking to myself "there's no way that anyone will vote for this man." Well, here we are, eight months later, he's in the lead, and he could very well be our next president. It's not a joke and we shouldn't be laughing anymore. Even if this man loses—and I am praying that he does—his campaign alone has already damaged this country. Trump has brought all of the closet racists, sexists, and bigots out of the woodwork. I'm not a naïve person who believes that racism doesn't exist, but this man has reawakened a spirit of hatred within the American people. These are opinions that, without a doubt, have always existed, but we have not seen open racism like this since the civil rights era.

Then we have Ted Cruz, who is just as big a bigot as Trump is. Before we go criticizing Donald Trump, we need to ask ourselves, are some of his views already being said in different ways? If you look at Cruz's campaign video titled "Invasion," you'll see that his opinions are not too dissimilar from from Donald Trump's. When he says that we're going to take our country back to a bunch of old white men, you can see the underlying meaning to his statements. Despite his Cuban and Canadian roots, which he wants to deny, Ted Cruz is running a campaign that is telling people that America is becoming too diverse and we need to make it white again.

Next is Hillary Clinton, the seasoned liar. Though, on paper, she is clearly the most qualified candidate, the trust factor is still in question. She claims to be a women's advocate but played a role in silencing the women who accused her husband of sexually assaulting them. She claims she will crack down on Wall Street. but has been known to receive large donations from it. Not to mention the Benghazi scandal that she has under her belt. To make matters worse, people are buying into the hype. You have celebrities like Kendall Jenner rocking shirts in support of Clinton with sayings such as "I'm with her." I understand wanting to elect a woman as president and I am 100 percent in support of that, but what's more important, electing a woman or electing a president?

Last but not least, we have Bernie Sanders, who has inspired me to write this article. I am one of the rare people in my generation who is not "feeling the Bern." Do I believe that Bernie is a good person? Yes, I do. Do I believe that Bernie would make a good president? No, I do not. Our generation gets so caught up in the hype that they don't take time to research what this man is saying. I get that feel the Bern is a catchy slogan, but, in all actuality, this man is just as big of a liar as Hillary Clinton is. He's getting our generation hyped up on promises he knows he won't be able to keep. Whenever I hear this man use the word free, the first thing that pops into my head is, who's going to pay for it?

Let me start off by saying that nothing in this country is free. Nothing in life is free. If you want something, you have to work for it. Period. His campaign has revealed to me that people in this country desperately need to take an economics class to understand how this country works. I believe that college costs need to be lowered significantly, but I do not believe that it should be free. A college education is worth something, and if you make it free, then you'll decrease its value. In a perfect world, raising the minimum wage sounds great, but if I can get a $15 an hour job right out of high school, then what's the point of me going to college? The average full-time job requires you to work at least 40 hours a week. A $15 an hour wage would total $120 a day, $600 a week, $2,400 a month, and $28,800 a year. The average entry level job out of college pays between $30,000 and $40,000 a year. People who bust their butts to get a college degree would still end up making around the same amount as someone who didn't go to school. Do you see what's wrong with that picture?

In writing this, I hope I help the American people understand that they need to dig deeper than a campaign slogan or advertisement; everyone is going to try and look good if they're literally attempting to sell themselves for a position. I am hoping that the American people really take the time to think carefully about who they're voting for. I hope that people will make smart decisions based on qualifications rather than who has the catchiest campaign slogan. This is election is crucial in deciding the future of this country and I hope that young people are taking it seriously.