I know I’m not alone when I say that the 2016 presidential election has been a major pain in the butt. Experts in politics are already lauding it as the most bizarre and polarizing race in American history. Not to mention the fact that it’s brought out the worst in everybody. It seems like everywhere I turn - whether heard in passing or written on a Facebook page - people from both ends of the spectrum are constantly at each other’s throats. Seeing such animosity - and hell, even just feeling it fester between two parties has made me question where I stand on the political scale.

I grew up in a predominantly conservative community, but I wasn’t aware of it at the time. Notions of conservatism and liberalism didn’t exist. As little kids, my friends and I had different priorities. Our only concerns were about learning how to read and write, who we’d play with at recess and getting excited about going on field trips. Our ignorance was bliss. Our reality was innocent, safe.

The complexities of the world didn’t sink in until years later, during middle school and early high school. And even then, for me anyway, topics like same-sex marriage, abortion rights, gun control, war, terrorism, Homeland security, health care and the economy weren’t a big deal. To be honest, I didn’t know what 9/11 was until I was fifteen or sixteen years old. That’s how tuned out I was.

But the older I got, the quicker I learned that the world could not be ignored. Issues of war, poverty, civil rights, and acts of violence were shaping it every minute of every day. And I realized that the ways in which they were handled affected my life in some shape or form. With the world constantly changing, I figured it was about time that I kept up with it. I checked out both the local and international news outlets every morning and night. I also read articles from "TIME", the "New York Times", "CNN", "USA Today" and the "Washington Post" every weekend.

I forced myself to be a political sponge, even though I didn’t necessarily want to. Absorbing bad news was emotionally exhausting. Hearing about mass shootings, terrorist attacks, brutal sexual assaults and how elderly government officials thought the world was getting worse on a daily basis was too much to handle. I knew I had to cut down, but at the same time it was important to stay as informed as possible. On top of that, media bias made things more confusing. What I wanted was the raw, strictly-objective truth, but every outlet I turned to had twisted it to please a left-wing or right-wing audience. In many occasions, I was able to debunk some of these “truths.” I didn’t know who or what to trust.

Although disheartened, I refuse to fall back into a state of ignorance. The division between the Left and Right continues to widen, with Republicans and Democrats accusing each other of promoting the downfall of the country. The pressure to choose a side is too great sometimes. To the point where I’m afraid of expressing my opinion because I don’t want to start conflict between my left-wing friends and my right-wing family. But I understand now that this kind of conflict isn't bad, as long as it generates healthy discussion and not wage war.

But my voice is mine and mine alone. In a society of extremes, I’m comfortable inhabiting the middle ground. I’d rather look into both sides of the argument and come to a consensus, something I think a lot of people refuse to do. I won’t be pressured into joining a specific side, nor does my not picking one mean I’m stupid or un-American. Conforming to either extreme is too dangerous for my taste. My allegiance is to independence.