I almost never engage in political debates online. While I have always felt that standing up for what I believe in is important, Facebook or twitter are not the platforms in which to do so. Nobody ever actually changes their mind, they just fight for their own opinion. Fighting over political standings online is never a good use of time. Instead, I take my time I write out my own thoughts, for myself, and listen to hear what people are saying, rather than to reply. So consider this my reaction to most of the presidential race. Here are some of my thoughts on Hillary, and the calculating factors which weigh towards my vote.

I'll start with what I believe to be the obvious: I don't agree with any of the alternative candidates. While I know that there are applicants other than Trump, but I'm not interested in Gary Johnson and the other alternative choices, because they simply won't win. While I do believe that our country should reform the electoral college system, and make it easier for the people to actually choose their own president, I don't feel strongly enough about the issue to throw away a vote on a candidate who won't be able to voice my opinions. I'll be honest when I say that I don't know a lot about the other nominees, but I know enough to know I don't believe they fit my standards, nor do they impress me. The first time I vote for president, I want my vote to mean something, to count, and to have a real shot at saying, "I voted for the current President of the United States." This is a personal choice, but, to me, a very important one.

Of course, who I am influences who I vote for and my opinions. I am the most affected by the way people treat other people, and the respect people have for one another. I believe in people supporting one another. While I know that it is not realistic that everyone will come together, hold hands, and sing 'kumbaya,' It's important to me that the candidate I vote for is aware of the most basic human rights, and respectful towards all people. This candidate is going to be held on a pedestal, and represent our entire country.

Looking at the other candidate which the media has spotlighted: Trump. I'll start by citing my complete and total bias. I despise Trump. The few times I did actually engage in a conversation about policy and his candidacy in general, I was too emotional to really talk about it. This is my best attempt at actually laying out the facts. The facts I'm focusing on may be negative, but there's a lot of negative. Trump has repeatedly proven to me that throughout his entire life, as an adult, he has disrespected people of all color and gender and demographic. Throughout his campaign, he has disrespected people of Black, Mexican, Syrian, and Islamic heritage, among others. He has never apologized for his racial remarks, or really understood what racism actually is. He has disrespected women, the whole while stating that "no one has more respect for women than I do." This allows for our country to set an extremely low bar for how women should be treated. If the leader of our country can make remarks about grabbing a woman's pussy, than how can we hold anyone else to a higher standard? I also want to draw slight attention to the fact that Trump is under multiple lawsuits and sexual assault charges, one fraud charge, and has been accused of sexual assault, and rape, on a child. I implore you all to research these lawsuits, even though there's not a lot the media is saying on them now. While I have a lot to say about Trump, and the research to support my decisions, I will focus from here out on Hilary.

Hillary, in my mind, is an amazing candidate. I'll admit that I originally voted for Bernie and not Hillary. I'll admit that in the past, I was not a fan of Hillary's. I definitely thought she was crooked, and I still have questions about some parts of her past. Looking at the facts, we know that she was involved in an email scandal where possibly classified emails were mishandled. While I know that this is a serious breach of security, and could have ended up with information in the wrong hands, lets focus on this issue for what it is: an email scandal. The CIA has investigated Hillary, and stated that while the information was mishandled, that no charges would be filed, and none of the information ended up being compromised. I do also definitely think that if Hillary was a male politician, this issue would not be such a huge problem. President Bush Jr. and his administration handled emails in a similar way, deleting thousands of emails, and he was never investigated. I'm not trying to downgrade the fact that she did something wrong. I am absolutely not dismissing her mistakes. I just think that her gender is a factor in this, and I am trying to be unbiased about it. I also don't feel that I can make a decision on any of this, because there really isn't any information. The FBI hasn't released what the information in the emails was, but they did not find her guilty or file any charges against her. Also, I prefer the email scandal over a child rape scandal or a sexual assault scandal any day.

There's also the Benghazi scandal. While these two issues are intertwined, they are also separated because of their specific importance. While Clinton's name was the only name cited in the files citing the offenses of national security, it was only mentioned once. As Secretary of State, it is her job to ensure safety of all people representing the United States across the globe. This attack left four americans killed. While this is an important issue and an extreme fault in our national security system, the citation to Hilary Clinton in the report that followed only occurred one time. She is not the only person responsible. It's also important to understand that Clinton was not the one responsible for sending help to those in need in Banghazi. This responsibility would be one of military officials. Another cited issue was that even if she did have the power to send people or tighten security, congress was actually the power which determined the budget for security overseas, and there were limited resources. She was investigated for this as well, and also not charged. Families who lost love ones in the Benghazi attack have stated that they do not blame Hillary, and that she was not solely responsible. Her ability to hold steady throughout her interrogations and stick to her story has shown her unending patience and strength. She was not questioned as a criminal, she knew she had answers to give to the american people. She answered for her misguided moments, and has so far been ruled innocent.

Hilary embodies, for me, all of the struggles I face as a feminist. Female empowerment and Feminism have become dirty concepts. I face discrimination as a woman every day, and I live in Boston, probably one of the most liberal cities in our country. I am treated differently because I am a woman. I can relate and understand and recognize the ways that Hillary is being treated differently in this election because of her gender. Let's sit back and look at this election. First, pretend Hillary is a man. Every politician has scandals. Most are overlooked. But it seems in this case, Hillary is held to a higher standard as a female. But what if we held her to the same standard, and recognized her as a human being? Second, What if she was looked at in her candidacy for her own actions, and not her husbands? Last time I checked, Bill Clinton wasn't running for president, Hillary was. It's so typical for people to be judging a woman based on her husband, but never a man for his wife. Hilary has done so much for women everywhere by being a role model. Her opinions on abortion and women's rights are steady. Of course she changed her mind in the past, but I don't believe that to be unnatural. She has progressed so far in her career, and gives girls everywhere someone to look up to, someone humble and strong.

The last point I'd like to highlight is Hillary's reformation of the foster system during her time as First Lady. (I really suggest you pick up her book It Takes A Village! It's a bit out of date now, since times have changed to much, but shows a lot to her character!) A big problem in our country is our education. The best way to tackle this problem is at its root, with the next generation of this country. She has proven her interest in the younger people and shown that no one should be forgotten. She has proven her ability to reform a system rather than strike it, which is an extremely important gift for a leader to have. So many systems in our government don't work properly, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have them, it just means we have to reform them. Hillary is a great candidate to head the reformation of the welfare system, the immigration policies, and the education processes we have in place, among other issues.

Hillary has been in politics her whole life. Our country has a lot of systems which aren't working, but I believe that she has made our home a better place with her time in various offices. She has fought for the less fortunate, and has given a voice to those who didn't have one. She is an extremely experienced in policy, and has a real plan for the country, and a vision I can believe in. She has negotiated with other world powers countless times and has the experience to lead this country, and is by far the most qualified candidate in this election. I am so excited to be voting for a woman who I believe deserves my vote.

I'm With Her.