College is a place where speaking your mind is encouraged. Everyone is trying to learn from each other and grow, and that's a beautiful thing. I go to a noticeably liberal state school in the capital of South Carolina, a majority conservative state. A few times during my first year there, I asked myself why I am a liberal. At first, I had no clue how to answer. But then, it became increasingly clear to me.

I'm a liberal because I think that everyone deserves a chance. This is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, but recently, it's seemed to me to be more of the land of oppressors and the home of people screaming for the opportunities that they deserve as citizens of this country. Everyone deserves an education, healthcare and equal pay. So why are millions of women having to protest nationwide for their basic rights? Why is it 2017 and the argument for equal pay is still occurring? We claim to be such an advanced nation, but our president and many people standing behind him still ignore scientific facts such as climate change. I'm a liberal because I want our nation to grow with the times. Other countries are catching up to and surpassing us in societal and scientific advancements. Every person deserves a chance in this nation -- we claim to be such an incredible nation for opportunities but those opportunities are getting continuously denied for certain demographics of people.

I'm a liberal because I think that generosity to others if you're more fortunate should be an unspoken value of this country. But instead, selfishness has become a more prevalent value in this country. No one wants to share their money, their healthcare or their other opportunities. Instead of sensible solutions being proposed for issues in this nation, solutions such as building a wall to keep out the rapists and denying healthcare for people who've been sexually assaulted are actually being considered. I'm a liberal because I don't believe in a nation run by hate or fear.

I'm a liberal on most controversial topics such as gay marriage and abortion for a simple, common reason: I don't think that it's the government's business. The government has no right to tell people who they can love. And, seeing as most lawmakers are men, they sure as hell have no right to tell women what they can and cannot do with their uterus. The government should be concerned with legislation that truly affects every single person in this nation, such as healthcare, the economy, the military and education.

Overall, I'm a liberal because I was raised with the ideals that if you're more fortunate, you should share what you have out of hopes of helping others. I was raised by love, not by hate. And I don't want future generations to say that they were raised in an America full of hate and selfishness. I want them to say they grew up in an America that was free of limitations due to their gender, sexual orientation or heritage.