Growing up, it was very hard for me to say with certainty whether I was a Democrat or Republican. Recently I have been able to kind of solidify that answer, and during this past year and its election cycle, I have been very open about how I felt about our candidates.

But being 18 years old and having an opinion about politics sometimes does not go as smoothly as you would hope.

When talking about politics with adults, if I insert my opinion into the conversation, most adults look down their nose and disregard what I have said. These days, if people don't agree with your political views, they just say that you're young, you don't understand, and if you were in their shoes, you would feel differently.

I have been told more times than I can count that, "You just don't get it," or " you'll understand when you're older." But I have never let those words stop me. I continue to voice my opinions, even when they get shot down before the words fully leave my mouth.

Many adults from the older generations (like my grandparents) assume that young people make their political decisions based on the rest of the millennial's beliefs. This is completely untrue for myself. The political views I have are ones I've had at least since the beginning of high school, and they have always been based off of my beliefs and values-- not anyone else's.

Older generations often try to sway my beliefs, because they do not believe I actually believe what I am saying. But for me, I believe in what I say more than I believe what they say most of the time. I don't allow other people to tell me what to think, and I'm going to take the stance on issues that I believe is right, not what the Democrats or Republicans believe in.

As a friend recently told me, too many people see politics as black and white, but I see politics as my beliefs on certain issues. I haven't let myself be defined by political affiliation yet and I do not plan to let it define me anywhere in the future. I will always stick to what I believe in, no matter what other people say and thats just the stubborn streak I am known for.

Being open and vocal about political beliefs is not an easy road to be on. You get shut down when trying to give your opinion, and people never take you seriously, even more so when your just 18. But I was raised to be stubborn, and I won't let any of that stop me from giving my opinion in an 'adult' conversation during Christmas dinner.