Being at college and trying to keep up with your course-load, work, family and friends at college and back home is beyond challenging. Not only is that challenging, but so is trying to keep up with the daily news except by word of mouth, yet even by the time it reaches us, it is so tainted by others' opinions it's hard to know what the truth actually is.

From personally struggling to keep up with all of the news, when I first heard about the 120 day suspension of refugee admissions and the 90-day ban on citizens from certain, predominately Muslim, countries entering the United States such as; Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen; I was taken aback. My first thought was "is this even true" then "how is this possible? THIS IS AMERICA!" Following, "We are the land of the free and now we're saying, keep out in big bold letters." I'm enraged America.

Now I don't typically get political, it's not my strong suit nor is it a topic I enjoy to discuss, but when I sit here in America with a roof over my head, food on my table, enough money to get by with, and friends and family I can get a hold of with the touch of a button and hear about this ban. That my friends from various countries aren't allowed to go back home to their families in fear of not being allowed to come back to America for 90 days, maybe even more; I'm broken hearted, I'm enraged. It's insane. I understand that there's people living in America illegally, I understand that there's people that are living in America after escaping some unspeakable things, but America; where is your compassion? Where is your consideration? Where is your empathy?

Grand Forks, North Dakota; a town of so much more than blizzards, excruciatingly painful wind, and winter 9/12 months of the year. It's a town full of Somali refugees. According to the Dickinson Press, "The U.S. has invited Somali refugees to its shores since the late ‘80s, and Somalis make up one of the principal refugee populations in North Dakota. Some — have come straight from east Africa — more than 8,000 miles away — while other refugees migrated from elsewhere in the United States to job-rich North Dakota in pursuit of greener pastures."

I was talking with a friend just yesterday about the ban and she mentioned that her Aunt has trouble leaving Africa enough already to come to the States. And on top of that her last name is Somalian, and now with this ban on immigrants and refugees entering the United States, it's going to be even harder for her to enter the United States, if at all.

I understand that there are awful wars going on right now such as the War on Terror (2001-present), Somali Civil War (1991-present), Mexican Drug War (2006-present), the South Yemen Insurgency (2009-ongoing), and others. I understand that there's terrorism, that there are issues that have existed for a very long time and are resurfacing. But I also understand that we are living in such oblivion in America, watching biased television and stuffing our faces with the latest processed junk food. I understand that we are a knowledge deprived nation.

Now you may be thinking, "Well, that's not true for me." Kudos to you if you think you're up to date on everything happening in the world. But ask yourself, are you just watching the same two to three news channels every day? Giving you the same biased information day in and day out? Are you reading the same tabloids and believing what they say? A prime example is of the Wall Street Journal below. Same article, different titles.

Are you reading the same social media accounts of individuals who have beliefs that suit yours when maybe they're not even accurate? Do you still think you know everything that's going on? If yes, have you heard of these events? The Quebec "Terrorist Attack", Navy Seal killed in Yemen Raid, the Philippine Anti-Drug Operations, Kansas City bus attack, are just a few of many stories. If no, then we're in agreement.

I do not personally know everything going on in the world nor do I know most of what occurs in the United States unless I catch a glimpse of an article in the paper, hear it on the radio, see something on social media or my political friends bring it up. Otherwise I'm on the outs with what's happening. Does that scare me? Absolutely. And the saddest part of all, is that I know I'm not alone. Most people around my age in this generation don't even know the past presidents yet they know nearly every celebrity. PoliTech made a three minute video about how college students are "Politically Challenged", and I couldn't agree more. It's terrifying to be living in a generation that simply does not know.

Now back to this ban on immigration, is it really something that positive for our nation? If we were a nation of freedom and equality, we wouldn't be still marching for rights that are already given to us in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If we were a nation of freedom and equality we would feel like we are free and equal.

I remember being a little girl and going into airports and security was reasonable. I mean it still was after 9/11 but now that I'm older and going into airports more and more, each and every time the security is increased drastically. Even at sporting events, bags are checked thoroughly and security is at least six deep at each door entrance. When I was at the Gillette Stadium this summer, not one single person was allowed to bring a bag in unless it was clear and followed their bag policy.

I understand that I live in America and have certain rights others in different countries don't. I understand that it may not be my place to discuss anything political as my knowledge is limited. But one thing for sure that I do understand is; is that for me it does not matter what color skin, religion, heritage/background, global location or whatever a person is, if they're nice to me and want to be my friend, I will do the same. I have heard some awful stories of what goes on outside of the United States in countries we pretend to have no issues. Yet we want to keep them out because we're scared. Because we want to have control and keep our jobs. Have you ever taken the time to consider how much the United States depends on the labor of illegal immigrants?

"In terms of overall numbers, The Department of Labor reports that of the 2.5 million farmworkers in the U.S., over half (53 percent) are illegal immigrants.

Some people claim that illegal immigrants represent an assault on our sovereignty. If this is true, then it might be the first time in world history that a country has employed its invaders. (The Hill)."

The opinions on this topic are clearly all over the board. A few examples of this are listed below:

Cloyd Rivers, a popular die-hard American posted this a January 26th, 2017 on social media.

I understand his point of view, yet at the same time, closing borders is nowhere near the same as closing and locking the doors to our homes. That's almost like saying Donald Trump loves each and everyone that lives in the United States and that he wants to do the very best for them. Well, I'm sorry to shatter your view of him, but he is not God. And I guarantee he does not love each and every one of us within the borders of the United States because he made this ban. He's discriminating, minimizing opportunities for freedom, for life.

Rob Fee also had a very valid point to make about this ban coinciding with religion...

I'm not here to enrage you. I'm not here to have your view of me change due to my view on this article. I'm here to open your eyes to what life is like when you have legitimate fear that you may never see your close friends ever again because of the color of their skin, their heritage, their last name. America, my friends came to you for freedom and you gave them prosecution. Tell me America, are you really the home of the free?