America is a strong nation filled with individuals of every shade, race, religion and more. It has guaranteed its people freedom to pursue their dreams, to get an education and to never give up in what they believe in. However, due to this extremely stressful election that has pitted our people against one another, many of America’s people are no longer feeling strong, safe or hopeful for their futures.

The two final candidates in this election have spoken for us at the Democratic and Republican Conventions, and now it is up to America to choose their fate. Hillary Clinton, a woman with a humble upbringing and 30-plus years of experience giving back to the American community is our democratic representative. She has experience working in public service, serving as secretary of state, and she was our first lady. Hillary has given us a reason to stay optimistic about our country, a good ol' taste of womanly power and hope. On the republican side is Donald Trump, a man raised with a silver spoon in his mouth who didn’t have to work a day in his life due to the fact that he inherited millions. He has exploited innocents for money through his fake university, and he has ostracized and ridiculed women, handicapped people and immigrants. His campaign is all about intimidation, strong, brash, and inappropriate statements, and pumping fear into our fearless Americans. Who will you vote for?

I am not a particularly political person. However, this year, I have really gotten into this election for three reasons. The first reason is now that I am eligible to vote, I feel like I should! It is a law in the United States that by the age of 18, you are eligible to vote, so I voted this past June in my local neighborhood. It was pretty easy and simple, so no complaints here.

Reason number two is that I’ve become so much more woke due to videos posted everywhere on social media, especially Facebook. People in my generation no longer post statuses on Facebook, they now post videos. These videos can range from cute puppies cuddling with each other to videos of one of the horrific shootings that occurred this year. This year, with the election going on, I noticed a significant increase of videos share on my social feed that explained why Trump is a ridiculous person and why Hillary would be a great president. These videos both surprised and inspired me to become more in line with the news.

There have been so many aggressive and violent acts of hate against innocents, like terrorist attacks in Turkey and France, mass school shootings as well as policeman shootings against unarmed black men in the past year alone. Political leaders must react to these events in a way that pick people up and help them move forward and find closure; however, so far in this election, some political leaders like Donald Trump remained mostly silent during these horrific events or suggested that we all use guns in order to protect ourselves from enemies. Here is Trump’s reaction to the Orlando shooting and how to create solutions as well as our current president, Obama’s reaction to compare:

Trump:

Obama:

Voting this year really matters because America can’t afford to move backwards; we need to look at the future with positivity and hope. Trump has us in a backwards mindset that makes us fear and doubt ourselves, our history and one another. Fear and doubt are two of the strongest emotions one could have, and Trump has strategically used all of the negativity surrounding the dozens of terrible occurrences this year that have floated around social media to his advantage. These events have put a somber cloud over America, and it becomes extremely difficult to take it from a different perspective and remember that these events have been caused by a bad few.

There are and there always will be thousands of good people mourning, taking a stand for what is right and who want to help the world grow stronger, which is why Clinton’s campaign has been equally successful, even more so, than Trump’s. Hillary wants to move us forward in America because she is progressive, fair and completely rational. She is an advocate for the middle class, and she’s a strong fighter. Now, the decision is ours. Vote this year; it could change your life.