When the average American hears the word "Republican," he or she often thinks "old, white, rich, and male." Now this is a shame, because it is a distasteful stereotype that puts a certain group of people into a tiny box. Liberals and Democrats are seen as being open and accepting, but when they use these terms to describe a large portion of the United States, it totally reverts their intended message. In a nutshell, a Republican is a person who believes in individual liberties, in freedom, in the constitution, and in the beauty of our exceptional nation-state. Here I have written certain phrases that college Republicans here too often.

1. "But you're 19. Why are you a Republican?"

Now. This is where the whole idea of Republicans being "old, white, rich and male" comes in. No, I am not a Republican because my parents are. No I am not pressured into being one because of my upbringing. I am a 19-year-old Republican because I believe that conservative policies do better at lifting up Americans and unleashing their potential. Yes, I was raised in a conservative household, but I have created my views and vision on my own.

2. "All Republicans are just racist, sexist a**holes. You have no diversity."

Yeah sure, you keep on believing that. Tell that to Republicans such as 2016 presidential candidate Carly Fiorina (female), or South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (black), or Utah Representative Mia Love (black, female, and Mormon), or Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (Indian), or former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (black and female) or even Florida Senator Ted Cruz (Cuban). Democrats certainly do have more diverse voters, but to say that all Republicans are racist and sexist is racist and sexist in and of itself.

3. "You are so old-fashioned. Why don't you get with the times?"

Being a Republican, especially during college is definitely the farthest thing away from being cool. The thing to be nowadays is a Democrat/Liberal. I am not going to ever abandon my morals and my beliefs just to be cool because even though something is popular, it is not always the right thing.

4. "The Republican Party is so judgmental and unaccepting, why would you want to be apart of that?

Understandably, I can truly see the other side of this, particularly with the ongoing controversial gay-marriage debate. I understand that the majority of Republicans are Christians and they want to hold steadfast to their values, but what the SCOTUS decided has been done. There is no reason to fight against gay marriage anymore. If you weren't able to marry the human you loved, how would you feel?

5. "All Republican women are just oblivious housewives."

This is just completely and utterly false. This is such an insult to all Republican women everywhere who work hard either in or outside of the home. A feminist is a woman who lives the life she chooses. That could be as a stay-at-home mom, or as a CEO of a company. There is no reason to have discrimination toward conservative women. Republican women are tough as hell.

6. "But Bernie wants to give us free college. Don't you want that?"

We ALL know, that what Bernie Sanders is promising is not possible. College will never be "free", somebody is going to have to pay for it in the future, and taxing the rich more is not the answer to our problems. Many of my democrat friends even realize that it isn't possible; well, anybody but Hillary right?

7. "Well, do you like Trump?"

This is a more personal question pertaining to my individual views, but my answer is not concrete. I do like some of his ideas like building a wall, but many of his other ideas are just too much. And I just don't trust him because he was a lifelong democrat who even gave money to Hillary Clinton's senate campaign. So I agree with a proportion of his ideas, but I don't think that I can really see him as a serious president.

8. "So who would you like to be president?"

I am probably the biggest fan for former HP CEO Carly Fiorina. She has had extensive business experience as well as governmental experience which qualifies her for the presidency. She also has a plethora of foreign policy credentials and she truly understands how the economy works and how the world works. I could say many more things about her which would attract you all to her, but I'll save that for another article ;)

Being a college Republican in today's age is not exactly the easiest thing in the world, but it helps me strengthen what I truly believe in and it creates a more well-informed persona. I love hearing new ideas from the other side of the aisle because it makes my question my own, which in turn make me a more well-rounded person. It is good to question who and what you are, because without that, how would we grow?