Why Have Delegates?

Till this day I still don’t understand I we have delegates. When I was told that it’s the vote of the people that count I, honestly believe that my vote would actually go towards voting for a president. What I learned this semester is that delegates are the ones who vote for president. Why vote if that’s the case? I still don’t understand why that’s not the case. I honestly do believe that, if it were the people who voted, then, presidential outcomes would have been a bit different.