How many times have you heard someone say, “I really wish we had another candidate to choose from in this election?” This presidential election cycle has certainly been a circus of sorts. With the two least-liked candidates in history being the front-runners of the election, many of us Americans are feeling abandoned by the political system. We feel as though we’ve been placed in one of two boxes, and if we don’t stay within our box up through election day, we are “handing the vote” to the other candidate. I propose that a vote that strays from this binary system is never a wasted vote, especially in this election.

Republicans and Democrats. Elephants and donkeys. These two parties are the culmination of decades of U.S. politics. They are intended to represent both types of people in the world, liberal and conservative. Last I checked, however, not everyone is liberal or conservative. Some people are a mixture of the two. There is no way we can classify every human being, with unique thoughts and opinions, into simply these two parties.

Psychologists spend a great deal of time analyzing the human brain, and research shows that very few humans share exactly the same political opinions. Why is it then that we have only two major parties to represent upwards of three hundred million people? Furthermore, why are we often condemned if we choose to branch out and not vote democrat or republican? These are the questions that we must ask in a critical sense.

Voting is a civic duty, one that we should take pride in and one that we should take seriously. Voting based purely on party lines isn’t scrupulous. Simply because politicians labels themselves a democrat or republican doesn’t mean a whole lot. It is our civic duty to question everything a politician does, not just what party they associate with.

Deciphering who someone is as a human being, not just a politician, is the key in selecting who to vote for in this election cycle and every one after that. The latest polling data out of Ohio, a key swing state, shows that well over 50 percent of residents do not trust Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. That doesn’t mean that their platforms as a democrat or republican are anything unusual. It means that the candidates themselves as human beings simply don’t satisfy the needs of the majority of Ohioans. I have a notion that this feeling has transpired throughout the entire country, and people are left with a difficult task: to vote for the lesser of two evils.

I, for one, am sick and tired of having to choose between the lesser of two evils. George Washington warned of the danger of a two-party system, and who would’ve known that his advice from hundreds of years ago would ring true in 2016. When we are “forced” to choose between two evils, our individuality becomes irrelevant. We lose sight of our true identity. We now vote based on keeping the other candidate out, rather than voting with excitement for a candidate that we really like and support. It’s almost as if the two-party system subdues our ability to choose by boxing us in and not allowing exploration of other options. Both the democratic and republican parties have utilized this to their advantage for decades and it is time now in this election to stand up and say enough is enough.

Contrary to what we would perceive from the media, there are other options in this election! I want you to know that you don’t have to be boxed in any longer by choosing the lesser of two evils. If you really like and support Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, absolutely vote for them by all means, but if not, you can find a candidate that truly fits your personal beliefs and opinions. I have had friends tell me that I am wasting my vote if I vote for a third party. I’m guessing you may have come across that reaction from someone in your life as well.

However, I find them to be wasting their vote. Hear me out. The people who are voting simply to keep the other one out of office; it is their vote that is wasted. When they vote based solely for that reason, they are forgetting about their individuality. They are allowing this two-party system to effectively control and manipulate them into voting unscrupulously.

Voting was never intended to be a crisis-prevention technique. Voting was and still should be intended to do your part in supporting a candidate who supports you and your beliefs and opinions and passions. Marking that ballot on election day is a way for us to speak our mind and have our voice be heard. Are we truly doing our civic duty if we simply vote to keep the other candidate out? Many people who are voting for the lesser of two evils will tell you that your third-party vote makes no beneficial difference. On the contrary, I believe that a vote against the establishment and against the status-quo is exactly the kind of positive difference we need in the American political system.

As I alluded to, there are great third-party choices this election cycle. Gary Johnson is the Libertarian candidate who is, generally, socially liberal and economically conservative. Jill Stein is the Green Party candidate who is highly progressive on all fronts. Both are polling at less than 20%, so neither of them are a shoe-in to the White House. But, what if each of us out there who are fed up with the system and the candidates this year found what we are looking for in one of these third party candidates.

I, for one, know that I would far rather vote for someone based upon my passions and opinions than for more trivial reasons. Because here in America, we have freedom. That freedom makes this such a special and unique place, but often times when it comes to involvement in the political process, we take for granted our freedom to think critically. Our freedom to stand up to the government and say no, I am not going to confine to your ways. Be skeptical, be critical. Use your inalienable right of liberty by voting with purpose.

Vote this November for you. I don’t mean write your name in as a candidate. I mean vote for exactly who you want to vote for. Don’t let the media or your friends sway you from voting third party, because the second you do, your individuality and freedom, two of your most valuable assets, are taken from you. Stand up for what you believe in this November with your vote and you won’t regret it for a second.