Being a liberal in the current political atmosphere is rough. Not only do we have an election where the two major party choices are deplorable figures who seem incapable of telling the truth, but the third party candidates either can't pass a geography test or can't stay out of trouble with the police.

In the Democratic primary election, liberal candidate, Bernie Sanders, failed to capture the Democratic base and the DNC colluded with the Clinton campaign to secure her victory. In Obama's second term, he failed to pass comprehensive legislation through the partisan Congress. We've had to endure a conservative backlash from the Obama administration, but being liberal has had its moments.

I watched in my classroom when the first African American president was inaugurated. I've seen the emergence of activist groups like the Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street. I've watched as the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. And I stayed up till 3 o'clock in the morning on the day of my high school graduation to watch a Congressional sit-in lead by Civil Rights leader John Lewis. Even though this election is grim, we have to remain hopeful for progress.

I think that is essential in being liberal, hope. Hope that together we can make tomorrow a better day for all, even though hope has been pretty hard to find.