I just finished watching the second debate that I decided to stream on YouTube at the last minute. A few days ago, I realized that no one talks about what it is like to have an unconventional presidential election as the first one you get to vote in.

So, that is what this article will address. Before I delve into it, just a little about myself.

I am a 19-year-old college sophomore at the University of Arizona studying journalism. I find myself to be a little bit of a political nerd, and I have no shame in that.

I registered to vote when I turned 18 because I committed to, especially since I finally get a say in who runs the country. However, I did not expect the campaign to begin the way it did and run like this.

Back in 2012, it was simple. The incumbent has the advantage and he defeats his challenger. It looks like that is how most of the congressional races are going to play out, especially here in Arizona.

Fast forward four years later: you expect this election to follow the unwritten rule of history. That rule is that one party has it for two terms tops, then the other party comes in. That might actually change because the nominee of the Republican party has literally caused a divide.

Now, I am not suggesting that the Democratic nominee did not cause a divide, but in my honest opinion, it was not as bad. But what is it like to look at all of this and realize that your first shot at choosing the President is this?

The answer is simple: it is downright absurd. I literally thought I would have to choose between two qualified candidates, now it’s one qualified candidate and… yeah.

I never thought I would have to feel sympathy for a political party, but now I do. I also never thought that explicit language would come out of the family values GOP, but guess what?

These parties knew what they were doing when they put their nominees in front of the world. They knew who their candidates were when they were endorsing them, which is why it was so surprising when one of them went into a fury of regret last weekend.

As a 19-year-old college student, this is just… why? There are many answers to that, but the bottom line is: this election is insane.

Politics are stressful, but to me, it is a joyful stress. But this time, I have to put aside the joy I get from this stress, and focus on my mental health.

To be fair: not everyone likes politics as much as I do. A lot of people cannot handle the stress.

But the first time I can truly pay attention as a voter, and I get this: the qualified versus the “what is that?”