I’ve been a supporter of Ted Cruz since he filibustered Obamacare in 2013. At that point in time I was politically inactive and somewhat uneducated. I did not affiliate myself with either party, and I did not consider myself conservative or liberal. After years have passed I have educated myself and become aware of my place on the political spectrum. This past Sunday, I traveled three hours in order to see my own personal hero, Ted Cruz. I had never been to a political rally, so I didn’t know what to expect. I got there, and I just couldn’t wait to see Ted.

Seeing Ted Cruz on Sunday was an exciting experience for myself. I never thought I’d get to see him in person. Although, I was not able to meet my hero, it was still a wonderful time. It amazed me how different it was to hear him speak in person versus on a screen. I felt his passion through the words he shared and how he used them.

And here’s five reasons why I support Ted:

First things first, I am an education major, which for me means that I want to be a teacher and actually teach students and help them succeed in their lives. I want to expand their knowledge and help them learn things that they should know, and not according to the federal government. Ted Cruz wants to end Common Core and so do I. It is difficult for teachers to do their jobs because of the restrictions placed on them by the federal government. I strongly believe that the local government should be the one determining what the students learn and how. Each area is not the same and the federal government doesn’t have a right to be controlling it.

Second of all, Ted Cruz opposes raising the federal minimum wage. Personally, I do not feel that everyone should be living off of a minimum wage job. How I see it is that everyone starts out at a minimum wage job and continues to move up in the world as they gain more experience. No one should be working at McDonald’s for their whole life. By raising the minimum wage, those who have worked their way up lose out. They have worked their way to be where they are and others are already there once they get a minimum wage job. I find that unfair. As Ted Cruz says “Every time you raise the minimum wage, the people who are hurt the most is the most vulnerable."

Third, Mr. Cruz supports the repealing of Obamacare. For few and far between Obamacare is a good thing, but for the majority of the United States, it is more costly and damaging to them. In my opinion, I do not see a positive of the government interfering with my health insurance, as the prices have gone up, making it more difficult for myself to seek medical attention. For many, the cost of receiving Obamacare is more costly to them and very unreasonable. It is not the job of the federal government to control everyone’s health care. From my view, it has only caused more issues. Health care should be in a private sector completely separate from the government. Obamacare should be repealed, and Ted Cruz is the one to do it.

Fourth of all, Ted Cruz has not specifically supported to ban abortion, but has supported banning taxpayers for funding abortion. He also supported making it a requirement that doctors at abortion clinics must have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, which would significantly reduce the amount of staff at abortion clinics. I personally do not support abortion, although I understand that in certain circumstances some may see them as necessary. I am Pro-Life, as is Ted Cruz, and I believe in life and will support to give life to all.

Finally, I stand with Ted Cruz on his opposition to illegal immigration. Cruz has shown his opposition to President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. He did file a bill attempting to stop the president’s actions. Cruz argues his actions have encouraged increased illegal immigration. One of his amendments would have tripled the number of border patrol agents and quadrupled their equipment but it didn’t pass. For me, I believe that we need more security on our border and that there are too many illegal immigrants in our country. In some ways they are not all that bad because they do the work no one else wants to, but on the other hand, I think that many Americans would gladly take their spots today. If people wish to migrate into the United States, well good, but I believe they should do it properly and legally.