Like a lot of people I know, this will be the first election year for many of us. This could also be the strangest election in recent history. The only presidents whose terms I can remember living in were George Bush and Barack Obama. George Bush’s race was one I remember seeing on “Nick News with Linda Ellerbee.” The only thing I remember from that episode was switching channels because I did not like “Nick News with Linda Ellerbee.” However, Obama’s eight years are ones I remember vividly. I remember being in sixth grade trying to form a political opinion. However, that is something I’ve really yet to fully acquire. I never understood politics growing up. I still don’t like to understand them, but as a voting American citizen I feel that it is my duty to understand politics if I plan on complaining about it later. That brings me to the main point of this article, who should I vote for? No I’m not going to announce whose name I’ll mark in November, but I’d like to adventure into the political realm to gather a greater understanding of “my options.” I also expect this to spark an explosion of debate in the comments section.

Make America Great Again. This phrase has sparked many a debate as well as being a pun to many a Maryville College SGA campaign poster (mine to be exact). When I heard that Donald Trump announced his run for presidency, I thought it was just a joke or a twitter hashtag that would blow over in a week. However, it’s been much longer than a week and he’s the Republican nominee. The first thing I ever heard about Trump’s campaign was the construction of a wall. A wall to be built and paid for by the people it would keep out, Mexicans. Immigration has occurred in the country for many years (@ Christopher Columbus). But now it seems to be a more pressing issue. Unlike Christopher Columbus, we aren’t only fighting over land, but also jobs. The argument is that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens. This includes the legal immigrants. However, many of the jobs taken are the ones we don’t want. Like let’s be real, how many racist jokes have been made about Mexicans and gardeners or cleaning staff? Too many to count. Theses illegal immigrants came here for a reason with no intention (I assume) to take away jobs. They probably came here to find a job that paid a livable wage or to run from a country crumbling from drug wars and other bad things we Americans see on our Facebook news feeds. Trump has also alluded to having other minorities deported for reasons made by a media that wants to get more likes than its neighboring news station. In a sense, Donald Trump is going to FIRE ("fi-yah") a minority from the country. At least Donald has “the balls” to make a change around this country. I’ll give him that. He probably does have the guts to make some visible changes. But if that’s the reason you're going to give me for voting for Trump, then I’ll proceed to tell you about the foreign policy and global relations that’ll be in the trash after a wall is built around the Atlantic.

Let me tell you, that last paragraph was pretty biased. Trump isn’t my favorite. But he does have the business savvy that has lacked in our recent office holders. But, this paragraph is about the notorious and persistent Hillary Clinton. But before I can go into detail about her, I should probably mention Bernie Sanders. Bernie seemed to be a college student’s dream. Free college. That’s cool, I guess. It’s an amazing thing to strive for. He also had some other great ideas that I don’t remember because I only recently looked at the candidate’s platforms. However, the main hashtag of my college’s campus was #feelthebern. Did I feel the “bern” for a bit? Sure. I was a new college student who found Bernie Sanders to be a tolerable person to root for. However, now that I understand more of what he was and what he stood for, I wouldn’t feel as much “bern.” Free stuff isn’t actually free, so the money comes from somewhere. And to be frank, if I work my butt off for years in one of the hardest majors/professions just to have pay for someone else’s education knowing that it could be a waste because college wasn’t for them, I’d rather not. I know college is expensive and I also know that a lot of people need help. But it’s also becoming very affordable in many ways.

To be honest, I wrote more about Bernie than I planned. If you’ve made it this far, I applaud you. Okay…Hillary Clinton. I don’t know much about her. I know she is in the political party I can relate with a bit more. I know she was recently found not guilty of an email scandal. I also know that if I didn’t want Trump in office, I have to vote for Hillary. Where I live, voting for Hillary is becoming a sin. I’ve found it’s hard to talk politics in my little east Tennessee town. I’m not allowed to support policy that I agree with because it’s Hillary. Saying all of these words will probably spark a lot of debate/arguments. But that’s okay, because we all have different opinions. That’s pretty much all I know about Hillary Clinton. Right now would be the time I’d state my political opinion, but instead I’ll move on to my last point.

Who do I vote for?

Heck I don’t know.

Well I don’t want Trump.

Well I also don’t want Hillary.

S.O.S!

This is becoming a common conversation among young people. And the solution is that there are plenty of other people to vote for. Gary Johnson is a name I’ve heard of onlyrecently. He is the nominee for the Libertarian party. What is the Libertarian Party? Basically, it has the economic principles of a Conservative while also having the social beliefs of a Liberal. Donald Trump knows economics, but if being a straight white male is the requirement for living in America, I may take Canada up on its offer of residency (the cold never bothered me anyway). Hillary offers a sense of social acceptance that I’ve grown to embrace. Diversity is one of my favorite words. But to break it down, she’s kind of sketchy. What do I do? Let me redirect you to the “S.O.S.” above. Libertarianism seems to be a solution. I’ll need to look more into it in order to be an informed voter, like I urge everyone to do. I have a vision for America. And that vision does not include me having to choose between having less debt or allowing our progressive society be embraced by the government.

I don't know who I'll vote for, but thanks for bearing with me. I hope I was able to add something to your next argument to the thread of the post below this post. #VoteNobody2016?