title: How to convert user input to string in python 2.7
body: <p>When I enter</p>
  
  <p><code>username = str(input("Username:"))</code></p>
  
  <p><code>password = str(input("Password:"))</code></p>
  
  <p>and after running the program, I fill in the input with my name and hit enter</p>
  
  <p><code>username = sarang</code></p>
  
  <p>I get the error</p>
  
  <p><code>NameError: name 'sarang' is not defined</code></p>
  
  <p>I have tried </p>
  
  <p><code>username = '"{}"'.format(input("Username:"))</code></p>
  
  <p>and</p>
  
  <p><code>password = '"{}"'.format(input("Password:"))</code></p>
  
  <p>but I end up getting the same error.</p>
  
  <p>How do I convert the input into a string and fix the error?</p>