2016 is the strangest election year to ever happen. I imagine telling my grandchildren about the time a reality star and a woman who would have been sent to prison for some of the things she’s done were racing against each other to become the new President of the United States. The two front-runners (Clinton and Trump, if you lived under a rock and weren’t aware) are not necessarily what everyone would categorize as “presidential material” which is usually okay because no one is perfect, but these two make it a little bit harder to support based on previous actions. So what are us, average, everyday American people supposed to do?

What? There are third party candidates? Oh, tell me more!

This year, there are a total of 1,817 people who have filed a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.

Wait, wait, wait. That’s more friends than I have on Facebook. How am I supposed to sort through them all and decide which one is for me?

Lucky for you, they’re not all listed on your ballot (save the planet, ya know?) and you’ll probably end up with 4-8 candidates written on your ballot. The two big third party runners are Jill Stein (Green Party) and Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party).

So you’re telling me that I can vote for a third party and not have to choose between the lesser of two evils?

Yes, that is what I’m saying, but you also have to look at it this way: pretend I wanted to vote for Gary Johnson because I hated Clinton but I really hated Trump. I mark my ballots and then I’m on my way to get a coffee to reward myself for following my civic duties. I then come to find out that Trump had won the race. I would lay in my bed at night and think “since I wanted to avoid voting for the lesser of two evils, I ultimately gave power to the greater of two evils.”

I just don’t agree with anything the two party candidates are aiming for so I couldn’t imagine myself voting for one of them when a third party aligns with my beliefs so much more.

This is okay! I’m not here to tell you that voting third party is the worst thing you can do as a person! I understand that it is really hard to vote for someone you are genuinely terrified to see run our country, I get that. Honestly, voting third party isn’t a terrible idea in the long run. Every vote is recorded so you voting for what you truly believe in might not do anything now, but down the line, it will show future politicians what the American people want to see and what they believe in.

Okay, so now that I know all of this, what do I do?

I’m not going to tell you to vote Trump. I’m not going to tell you to vote Clinton. I’m not going to tell you to vote third party. I’m not going to tell you to vote Ellen DeGeneres (even though I want to). Voting for a president is a hard decision to make. There are pros and cons to voting big ticket candidates and third party candidates. It all comes down to what you think is best for your country. Not what your mom thinks is best. Not what your history teacher thinks is best. Not what your opinionated Facebook friend thinks is best. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that includes you.

What I suggest you do is sit down, read up on multiples candidates platforms and think about what you want to see for the future of the country you call home.