It’s no secret that our country is going downhill. Fast. I have to say that I am ashamed to be an American. I’m only 13 years old, but I know that our founding fathers and mothers would be disappointed in us if they knew what was going on. This is not what the country was meant to be. Our country was meant to be a free place, one where people were treated equally. Well, that just didn’t happen. I am so disappointed that our terrible “president” has caused a wedge in our country. I wedge between wealth, a wedge between status, and most importantly, a wedge between genders. Notice how I put quotation marks around the word president, because he is not my president. I am not okay with a racist, sexist, terrible man leading the country, so for now, I am considering Hillary Clinton my president. She is a better person than Donald Trump in every way imaginable, and she has given women a glimmer of hope in this dark time. I’m not sure if you realize how terribly messed up it is that a woman can’t even walk down the street without feeling scared. It’s shameful that that’s the way things are. About a year ago, I had something happen to me. Me and my mom were at Home Depot, and I was being followed. I, a twelve year old girl, was being followed in a public place that should have been safe. Now, I start to panic in large crowds. I get scared just walking my dog. It shouldn’t be like this. Women should not be fearful just going out to lunch. That’s why I’m telling this story. Not to be “famous”, and not to have people feel sorry for me. I’m telling this because I want to empower all of the women and girls out there. If something has happened to you, don’t just keep it inside. Talk about it. Let people know. That way, you can turn your scary experience into something empowering, like I have. Everyone who is supporting Donald Trump needs to snap out of it and realize that it doesn’t have to be like this. Just because he is in charge of the country doesn’t mean that what he’s doing is okay. In fact, it is the exact opposite of okay. Everyone, especially women and young girls like me, listen to what I’m going to tell you. It doesn’t have to be like this. There will always be terrible people in the world, but I believe that there are more good people in the world than bad, and we can get through it. Just think about it. More than half of the people on Earth are women, and we all more or less have each others’ backs. That’s a special relationship that men just don’t have. They don’t realize how powerful we are, and what we can do if we just put our minds to it. Hell, we can carry around another human inside of us for nine months. Can men do that? I don’t think so. Another thing that I’ve noticed is that all of the men whom I’ve encountered get defensive when they are called out on pretty much anything. Even my own father, who is around me and my mother 24/7, and we are hardcore feminists. It’s just something that men have been brought up to think is okay. Well, it isn’t. It isn’t the olden days anymore where all women could do was cook and wash dishes. It’s 2018, and we all need to show everyone out there what we’re capable of. We can be anything we want. We women are powerful, and we’re also pissed off. That’s right. I’m pissed off at our stupid-ass country and I don’t care who knows it. And we all know that nobody can stop a woman when she is powerful and pissed off. We need to show our joke of a president exactly what we can do, and exactly how powerful we are. We all know that it’s a rough time for women right now, but we can get through it if we all come together and make things right. So, to all the women out there, I just want to let you know that we are in no way less important than men. No matter what race, color, or dress size you are, we are all women and we can all make a difference. It’s time to speak up. No more timidly standing on the sideline. Now, go out there and tell the world how you really feel. They deserve to know, and you deserve to tell them. You are beautiful, inside and out, and everyone is entitled to YOUR OPINION.