I remember entering Manitou High’s doors for the very first time as a high schooler. I was young, ambitious and slightly scared. That was 2 years ago. Now I’m a junior, which sounds so surreal to say.

As a junior, my peers and friends at my high school have started to think not only about where to go to college, but how to pay for college. I’ve heard the conversation countless times and it usually starts with, “My parents are paying for a bit, but I have to pay for the rest.”

It’s something that no teenager should have to worry about: paying off thousands upon thousands of dollars later on in life, and something that the U.S. is doing wrong. This has brought me to the attention of Senator and 2016 Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders.

Sanders is an advocate for free public college tuition nationwide, among other policies that have attracted many young voters around the nation.

Like many around the country, I would vote for the 2016 election if I could vote for Sanders.

It’s not just Sanders and Clinton running for a general election. On the other side of the party, there are more elephant candidates than there are probably actual elephants left in Africa.

According to Wikipedia, there are at least 17 candidates that are in contention of winning the republican nominee. You would think that out of those 17 there would be at least one decent candidate. There’s not, only bigotry.

Of course, there’s the front runner Donald Trump who wants to “Make America Great Again”, but with no word on any of his policies to make Mexico pay for his wall.

Trump isn’t getting votes for his policies, but for his loud mouth.

Jeb Bush is also a contender, but honestly does the United States need another Bush?

There’s also Ted Cruz, and the first time I heard of him I was optimistic, because of his name. Then I heard of his bigotry and his goal to turn America into a theocracy.

Sanders seems the only one who legitimately wants to make change to the middle class and the income gap. Besides just free college tuition, he’s big on getting money out of politics. His campaign has no super pacs involved. Only real Americans that want change are funding his campaign.

Trump has a lot of supporters because he doesn’t have anyone funding his campaign. In my opinion, Sanders is a few hundred years ahead of Trump in terms of values.

Sanders is also an advocate for easing the minimum wage as well as racial justice, which has been a hot topic this election.

My view of the nominees has definitely been altered and influenced by my family. My dad has given a good chunk of money towards his campaign and is an advocate. However, a lot of voters have stumbled upon Sanders on their own.

Sanders is only leading in his home state of Vermont, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a contender. He’s jumped a lot over the passed sixth months and is chasing Clinton in a lot of states.

Who knows if America will elect a Jewish socialist with a Brooklyn accent. I mean, our last president was a black man with a Muslim name. Stranger things have happened.