I’ve been associated with the GOP since middle school when I started a TARS (Teenage Republican Society chapter) at 14. I've worked on many Republican campaigns to help elect Republicans.

Leaving the Republican party was no easy thing, but for me, it was the right thing.

An older African-American gentleman once told me always to remember that, ”you can never go wrong, doing right.” With that said, what's right for me, may not compel others, and that’s okay. My decision was made on the principles that I prefer to live by, not a party slogan.

I don't pledge loyalty to a party and, certainly, not a man. I stand erect on solid ground, having dedicated myself to a value system guarded by the morals and ethics instilled in me by my parents and grandparent. A set of beliefs that I, as a conservative believe, are missing.

I hve always believed tht conservatism & liberalism both play a part in moving us forward. There is indeed value in both systems, at least in the traditional sense. To move forward, but how fast, to be cautious, or to be idealistic about the unknown - both challenge each other.

There is an inherent beauty in the complex nature of the two, which is why I fell in love with politics. It is the mystery of that which requires an epistemological journey that is not indiscriminate, but careful and precise.

The great disappointment comes when that which you've been associated with, in my case, the GOP, and hoped to Improve heads down a road so far removed from where you are that you begin to question your own reason.

Time stands idle for no man, so I hope, however, unlikely that things get better. You adapt not out of weakness, but to survive, and at some point, this may be a contentious point of debate for many on the ideological right.