When I was eight years old I had a class project to write a report and dress up as my hero. My hero at that time was First Lady Hillary Clinton. Both of my parents voted for President Clinton despite my dad being a life-long republican. He was the first president I was aware of and him and the First Lady sparked my life-long interest in politics. I viewed Hillary Clinton with awe; she was strong, smart, and did very important things. When I would ask my parents if I could be in politics one day they would laugh and say that I was too honest to be a politician before telling me that I could be anything.

I was lucky to be raised in a household that encouraged such dreaming. I don't think my parents even realized how progressive we were: both of my parents worked full time, my father would do the grocery shopping and cooking, my mother climbed the corporate ladder at her office. My sister (who happens to be named Hilary) and I weren't indoctrinated towards any particular thing; we were expected help with all aspects of the house, I was signed up for sports alongside theater, we learned how to both catch fish and prepare it. There weren't things that only boys did or that girls should do, we could be anything.

As I dressed up to act like Hillary Clinton for a day, I wasn't aware that just a few months prior she gave her famous speech at the UN for women's equality. I wasn't aware that the ideals I was raised with weren't the standard for everyone. I wasn't aware that women face horrifying roadblocks in life and it wasn't long after this day that I was first sexually assaulted.

My parents did everything in their power to protect me, to empower and encourage me and I am forever grateful for them and my upbringing. I am a strong, driven, incredible woman and I have had an amazing life despite it's traumas. My foundation was solid but ultimately, the monster that is misogyny is too large a beast for one family to fight. A beast that is being uncovered at an unprecedented rate.

It has been difficult to watch the rise of demagoguery with this election. Trump represents white male power and despite his atrocious behavior he has continued garner support. He was caught bragging about his ability to sexually assault women, jokingly sexualizing children; he has been accused of assaulting multiple women and raping a child- simply making him a man of his word. He has exemplified racism, sexism, and fascism yet his followers do not stray, a depressing measure as to what is acceptable. His supporters will scrutinize every minute Hillary has spent in public service before considering that Trump is capable of doing something wrong. All of these things mean more than having a problem within our parties- they show us that we have a problem within the foundation of our nation.

Hillary is hated for playing the same political game that men do. Every man that held our highest office back to our founding fathers has been corrupt in some way, we just didn't have the same internet presence throughout our history. She has become the scapegoat for a system that was created to keep her out. It is painfully ironic that she represents an entire government created by men, mostly ran by men, while Trump is somehow considered an outsider in a world where prolific CEO's are the other side of the government corruption coin. This isn't about crooked politics in Washington, this is about a woman having the audacity to participate.

A man accused of sexually assaulting women and children may win the presidency because millions of people would rather have him in office than a woman who has been successful at playing the political game. This election, Trump's actions and the loyalty of his followers have been extremely devastating and personal. Half the nation would rather have a man who hurts women in office than a woman. It's not only a reflection of how little regard there is for the gravity of sexual violence, but a reflection of how little regard there is for women. I used to long for my innocent naivete, before trauma and before I was aware of the world's darkness, a time when I would see women like Hillary on TV and feel empowered. I no longer yearn for that innocence and instead I fight for making that facade a reality.

I am going to make casting my vote for Hillary Clinton a celebration. I will ignore the hatred directed at her and remember how deeply she inspired me as a young girl, as she has many others. I will ignore my trauma and commemorate my own strength, character, and ambition to be a voice for good in this world. I will ignore the sexism that plagues our country and relish in the fact that the most qualified, the most presidential person in this country is a woman.