As I looked at my absentee ballot that came in the mail, I can’t help but think, “Oh how I wish my first voting experience could be when President Obama ran for president.”

I’m dreading this election. Locally and nationally. The governor of Georgia is trying to take control of failing schools in the state, and I am faced to deal with two presidential candidates that both give me a headache whenever I watch a debate. Now, I personally have to sit down and think about what I stand for and consider who I want to live by for the next three years.

I attend The George Washington University in Washington D.C., and my dorm room is only a few blocks away from the White House. Living among all of this political tension isn’t the most enjoyable thing in the world. I find myself steering away from the political scene before it chokes me. Even though this election has been far from enjoyable, it has been eye opening and it has awakened many people in my generation.  

My belief now? Think about where you want to see yourself in the next four years. Vote for who you can see yourself proudly saying, “They are the leader of my country!” I definitely don’t want to see a man like Donald Trump represent my melanin skin.

In this election people say I have a choice in who I vote for, but when you don’t support Trump and are leery about Hillary Clinton’s motives, I can’t help but also think: Do I really?

Alexes is a freshman at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who graduated from South Atlanta School of Law and Social Justice in 2016.