March 22nd, 2016, Arizona held it's primary and on that day I wore a shirt supporting Donald J. Trump. My first class at Northern Arizona University began at 9:35 AM and by 9:40 AM, I was the elephant in the room (pun intended). People were showering me with dirty looks and whispers of "are you kidding me?" and "did you see her shirt?" I was both amused and uncomfortable but went on with my day receiving scowls, scoffs and remarks of disgust. I caught variations of phrases like "she must be dumb, well she is blonde", "racist" and "ignorant" all day. My friend and I went to grab lunch in the student union and while enjoying our meal, we were interrupted. A few people sitting at a table next to us began to loudly whisper about my shirt and then they asked me to move because I was making them feel uncomfortable. I responded with, "I apologize if my opinions make you feel uncomfortable. We live in this great country of America which allows us to have differing opinions." They muttered something else and continued to stare at me. I then sat up and said, "If you would like to discuss politics and why what I think is making you feel uncomfortable, I would enjoy that very much. My point isn't to change your opinion, it is to express mine." After that, I didn't hear anything else from that table but by then I was shaking with anger.

Going through my day feeling uncomfortable, as if I did something wrong, my anger did not derive from opposing political opinions, but from the reactions and words I received. Others projected their negative feelings onto me so effortlessly and with little care. This is not the USA that I have been living in, or is it?

I have seen an incredible decrease of respect within my generation. Everyone thinks that they are correct and if your opinion is different from theirs, they will talk down to you until you nod your head or plead for them to stop talking about it. Social media and media coverage has become such a large part of this issue. Young folks aren't willing to do the work to organize thoughts of their own.

We were always taught to have an opinion but in order to have a strong one, you must know what you are talking about. After spending my spring break watching speeches, rallies and debates, my strong opinions formed and I know, with confidence, who I want to see as our next president.