In my lifetime, there have been three presidents. In a sense, I feel as though I have grown up solely in the Obama administration, due to my growing knowledge of politics while he has been president. We are soon going to elect a new president, and politics as I and plenty of other millennials know it will come to an end.

I was raised in a republican family, with the majority of my extended family being heavily conservative southerners. This had quite an impact on my views of President Obama before I fully understood politics. He was cast in a negative light for so many years of his presidency, that I, too, believed he was not a good president. I can’t blame my parents for that, but all too often that’s what happens to kids as they begin to grow and learn about the world around them.

When I joined a program in my school called Youth and Government, this began to change a bit. I was exposed to new issues I hadn’t even given any thought to before, and with these new issues came incredibly passionate arguments for one side or the other. This is when I began processing politics and the government for myself, rather than listening to what mainstream media put out into the world.

I am a registered Republican in Oklahoma, and I am going to miss President Obama.

Now, I will be the first to admit that, though I feel well versed in politics, I do not know every little detail of the Obama administration. Like I said before, I grew up while he was president; he took office when I was still in middle school, so there are plenty of things policy-wise that I simply don’t know about. However, I can tell you that I greatly respect Barack Obama for many reasons. And I do believe that whoever is elected president next will not be given the same respect.

First of all, I respect President Obama because of who he is as a person. Throughout his entire career as president, not a single personal scandal has occurred. Though many believed, and still do believe, that he was not born in America or that he is a Muslim, he had no personal issues arise. For the candidates now, we cannot say that. Both major party candidates have their fair share of personal scandals for the world to see. We can’t entirely blame one of them for those matters, but it does not change the fact that personal issues have occurred. President Obama has shown the world that his family is incredibly strong and that they love each other very much. He and his family set a wonderful example for the world to follow.

Our current president has used social media to his advantage, and it’s one of the things I admire the most about him. He truly believes in the future of our country, and that is the children. I’ve seen countless videos over the years of him interacting with kids, whether it be infants or children participating in science fairs. It always warms my heart to know he cares so much about kids becoming successful adults. On top of that, he uses social media as a way to express to the country that he is a normal person, just like everyone else. He uses comedy to reach people of all walks of life in a way that compels the attention of the viewers.

Due in part to his political affiliation, President Obama has made so much progress socially. Under his administration, marriage equality was achieved. He is the only sitting president to openly and fully support gay rights, making the legalization of gay marriage that much better. Obama also has a great respect for women that I deeply admire. He expanded funding for the Violence Against Women Act, with his Vice President continuing his support for women and the fight against sexual assault. Unfortunately, with our options for the next president, we may not get that unwavering support. In fact, some supporters are even calling for the revocation of the 19th amendment because so many women oppose a candidate that has no respect for them.

As a Republican in Oklahoma, I can honestly say that I will miss the Obama administration. It seems the country may have taken him for granted in the eight years he was Commander In Chief. However, no one could have known that our options after this administration would be so far to the left or right that even registered Democrats and Republicans don’t know if they want to vote for their party. Looking forward into the future of this country, I am incredibly concerned for what could happen. For the past eight years, we haven’t had it so bad; the election will completely change that around, whether it be for better or worse.