I am attempting to write this article without showing my political preference or party for two reasons: 1. I am not in any way trying to start an argument about politics over social media, because frankly, I find it immature and pointless for people to argue back to back over social media about their likes and dislikes of politicians. I don't believe that arguing about who is better is going to change anyone's opinion. Everyone has their own. 2. This article isn't meant to be about rather i'm a republican or a democrat; it's simply to state my thoughts and feelings about voting for the president of the United States for the first time in my life.

I feel so blessed to live in a country where my fellow citizens and I are able to have a say in the way that our country is run. After visiting a third world country run under a dictatorship, I am thankful for the way that our government is set up and for the rights that I have. I'm thankful that we have garbage systems, paved roads, and that as a nation, we take part in choosing who the leader of our country should be.

"When you turn 18, that means you're an adult and then you can vote for the next president of our country," my mom used to tell me. Well now that i'm finally old enough to vote, i'm feeling like I really don't have much of a choice. One of our candidates is being accused of releasing classified information and continues to lie about what she believes in, and the other has said various crude comments toward people of different races and often doesn't seem to think before he speaks. I don't stand for either of these things and really don't want either of these people to be in charge of my country.

So I finally have the opportunity to make a choice that will affect my nation, where I have resided for the past 19 years, and I don't know who to vote for. It's really sad that as a millennial, I feel like I don't have much of a choice in voting for these candidates who are not true presidential candidates, but people who are more invested in their personal interests rather than our country's. Where is the honesty, integrity, strength, intelligence, organization, humbleness, and greatness that many of our past leaders and founding fathers have had?

I challenge millennials to really look around at what is happening and see what our country has come down to. Although my first time voting may not be what I hoped it to be, I am sure that I will always remember the feelings I have right now and the ambiguity that I am facing about the potential leaders of our country. We may not be able to make the voting choice that we want this upcoming election, but we certainly can use this experience to remind us of how we want our government to be run, and decide what we truly value in the leaders of our land.