Trump. Trump. Trump. On TV, on the radio, and worst of all—on Twitter. There is no escaping the nightmare that is Donald Trump. But whether or not I like him, he’s been a huge part of my teenage years. All feelings aside, it’s time to think about how President Trump has shaped me.

When President Trump was elected, I was surprised even though I shouldn’t have been. His election proved that racism is so prevalent in this country that millions of people were able to overlook his blatant white supremacy and still support him. 

And I wasn’t the only one shocked by his election. For most of us kids, it made us look at our country differently and with less forgiving eyes. It was like our future wasn’t as sure because we didn’t have faith in our government to do right by us.

I started seeing our government as the dirty, corrupt organization it is. I watched as Trump hurt thousands of families in different ways, appointed someone credibly accused of rape to the Supreme Court, and emboldened the ugliest parts of our country. I’ve watched as Trump has turned our once-progressive country into an absolute sh*t show.

At one point in time, I might’ve considered a career in politics, but now the whole idea makes my skin crawl. I even used to think people running for office were brave and driven, but now it feels like they’re wasting their breath trying to reform something that needs to be redone.

This all sounds extremely negative, and most things about Trump’s administration are; but surprisingly, there are some upsides to growing up with the big Donald as your POTUS.

For one, I’ve learned to question the information around me rather than accept everything at face value.

Furthermore, I’ve become more motivated to be involved. I may never run for public office, but I’ll always be a part of an important conversation, or part of a protest, or an organization. By now, I’m sure everyone knows the importance of involvement if we want to get out of this mess.

Trump’s antics have caused a lot of rifts within the country, and he’s upset a lot of young people like myself. Because of him, I know that I’ll spend my life fighting injustices like the ones he’s committed. And I know that after seeing what he’s done, there are thousands of other young people motivated to do the same.

So while we wait out these (hopefully) last few months, let’s remember what we’ve learned these past few years. Let’s continue to use President Trump as motivation to change what we can around us and continue to grow within our environment. Most importantly, let’s be smarter and not let this happen a second time.