To all who are reading this, you must be thinking a number of things, like, Why on Earth would this girl be thanking this horrible man? The truth is, I dislike our new president of the United States for many reasons that I will soon get into, but I also have reasons to thank him.

Most people automatically judge me because I’m a 19-year-old liberal millennial who doesn’t quite have as much life experience as most people. On just those facts alone, people jump to the conclusion that I have no idea what I’m talking about or that I’m just another entitled millennial. I’m not pretending to be an expert in politics. I don’t know everything, not even close. I probably do get some of the facts wrong. I have opinions people don’t agree with, and that’s okay. We all have our own opinions and our own stories that shape those opinions.

I have many people in my life who have taught me the importance of participating in the world around me and who have encouraged me to learn not just about the government and politics but basic human rights and empowerment. These people have taught me one of the most important lessons in life: No matter your age, your gender, your sexuality — no matter how much you think you’re not important — we all have a voice! We all have the power to make a change, no matter how big or small. We all have the responsibility to make sure we are aware of events going on in the world we live in. It’s imperative that we don’t just sit around and let the bad things happen without fighting. We all have a role to play, and here I am doing mine. In spite of all the horrible things going on in the world since Donald Trump has taken office, I choose to see the positives. I just want to say thank you.

Thank you for making all of us women see our self-worth. For making us realize the rights we claim as females. Thank you to the millions of people who participated in the women’s march. I have come across many people who have posed this question: Women still have rights; what’s the point of marching? The point is that under this presidency, many basic rights of women are being threatened, such as women’s healthcare and reproductive rights. Our new president has made people and women realize that no man, no government, no one has the right to tell us females what we can and can’t do with our bodies. No one has the right to take away safe healthcare. Only we have the right to make those decisions for ourselves. Thank you, Mr. Trump, for empowering people and causing a wave of newfound feminism to happen. Thank you for making us stand up to make our opinions heard.

Thank you for making natural-born Americans and immigrants band together over the executive-ordered travel ban. America was once viewed as the promised land. The land where people can go to escape persecution. The land where anything is possible. Now our country is viewed as a country of judgement. We are a country viewed as biased toward only Americans and conservatives. Protests have erupted all over the country in objection to the ban. Thank you for causing people to stand up for others who have little to no rights, whose voices are pushed away. Thank you to those people who are being brave and standing up despite the consequences it may bring. It saddens me that at this moment, people aren’t allowed to come into this country to further their education or future, for medical purposes, or to even practice their religion freely; people aren’t allowed to enter this country for a safe haven. What was once freedom now has become intolerance.

Thank you for making educators, students, and people stand together against Betsy DeVos. Thank you for making people see the worth of education and all the work that teachers and educators put into teaching the young people of our country so that they can become the most successful adults they can be. Thank you for making people see the value of the arts in this country.  Art creates diversity and sparks creativity. Art is what creates your favorite album, what makes words appear in your books, what creates paintings in all the museums. If funding for the arts is cut back, what message is that sending to people? That art isn’t important? How will this impact our country?

These are the questions we should be asking ourselves. These are the things we should be thinking about. We can’t just sit around while these things are happening in our country. The time to take action is now! Thank you, Donald Trump, for making people band together and become empowered to create change. Despite all the negatives, there are positives. The issues caused by Donald Trump have caused unity with all different kinds of people from every corner of the world. We have realized as a country that we aren’t perfect and that we have work to do to make this country safe and equal. Thank you, Donald Trump, for helping me find my voice and for making me realize that I can impact the world in my own special way through writing.