Recently, I was talking to a friend about politics. I know, why on God’s green earth would I do that? Anyway, there we were and this friend was telling me that in the upcoming election, she plans to vote againstTrump, therefore voting for Hillary.

Now, I’m not here to discuss who you should or shouldn’t vote for. I trust you’ll work that out for yourself. What I am here to say is that you should make a decision on who to vote for.

I get that in voting for someone, you inherently vote against someone. 100%, I get that. But I think it’s a waste of a vote to use it to go against a candidate. We get to make a choice. So make it. Be for someone, not against them.

“Why am I so intent on this?” you ask. Phenomenal question. I care that you’re voting for a candidate because it means that you took the time to actually choose a candidate to be your pick in the 2016 election. It means that you researched them and knew their stances on various issues and actively participated in American government. Because that’s the whole point. We as a nation get to make this decision, so we all need to do our homework as individuals.

The way I see it, choosing to vote against a candidate, instead of for one, is lazy. There, I said it. It’s just plain lazy. And if there’s anything this media-storm of an election needs, it’s people who know what the hell they’re actually talking about. As a nation, we need to be strong enough to have our citizens actually pick a candidate and to be respectful enough to allow everyone to be express their opinion, regardless of how you personally feel about it. The freedom of speech goes both ways.

I know this election is an emotionally-charged one. I know it’s chaotic and highly polarizing and you can feel judged for picking a side and making it known. I know, I feel it too. But that fear shouldn’t stop you from picking the candidate you most believe in.

I realize there are people who primarily want to vote against a candidate because they don’t like either option. This is where I’d like to point out that whether you like them and/or want to befriend them isn’t what we’re doing here. It doesn’t matter what you think of the candidates in terms of personality or their personal life. This isn’t a popularity contest, it’s a presidential election. The question at hand is “Who will make a better president, given the options?” This is the question we have been answering for hundreds of years, and that will remain true.

So I urge you to get informed. But more importantly, I urge you to make your own opinion. Don’t vote for Hillary because it’s trendy to hate on Trump. Don’t vote for Trump because he had a TV show once upon a time and you recognize his name. Don’t vote for the wrong reasons, and especially, don’t vote a certain way because the media is telling you how to vote.

I’m not here to tell you how to vote. Quite frankly, that’s not my job and you don’t care to hear it. But, straight up, I am here to tell you that voting against somebody is bull, because it’s a cop-out. By voting against, you haven’t really made a choice. You’ve ducked any sort of responsibility for picking someone and actively being a part of this election. I don’t care what your parents, siblings, friends, professors, grandparents, etc. think of your choice. But for the love of George Washington and all things American, vote for someone and own it.