Every day in the news, you hear the anchor saying "the world is truly watching," but are they? Out of all the things that happen in the world, the one day that everyone watches is election day. On that day, it predicts what will happen worldwide for the next four years. The President of the United States is a world leader that helps countries overseas so the election of the President truly affects the world more than most people think. This election of 2016 was the most watched election, the most voter turnout and the most intense election in the United States history so far.
All through the election, I felt like I was in multiple boxes. First, as a republican. Yes, I felt out of place in school. Most of my friends are democrats so we never talked about politics and when we did, I felt like I didn't belong because of my views. Even today in one of my classes, I felt out of place along with the 3 other known republicans in that class. It felt wrong to voice our opinions because of the looks or the comments that could be done towards us when announcing that we voted republican in the race. Second, as a feminist. I believe that women should have equal opportunities in the workforce, but that doesn't mean I have to vote within my gender at all. I personally felt that I agreed more with Trump's views more than I did Hillary's. I believe that people should vote based on the views of the candidates, not the gender of them. The third box, our generation that voted is the first generation that made their own decision without their parents and their views are more moderate than their parents. And lastly, the box of being a woman in today's society. Being a woman automatically makes you a hardcore feminist in the eyes of society today. But it's more than that. In four years, women will have had the right to vote for a hundred years and the equality of women still isn't equal compared to men.
This election was a very difficult one. The world was truly watching and I was as well. I personally stayed up until 1:30 am to see who would win. At that time, they still didn't call the election. The next morning, I woke up and immediately knew that Trump won. I felt like a new era of the United States political system started. I do recognize that Trump has said a lot of things, but, at the same time, so has Clinton.
In this election, social media had a huge part in it. With the hashtags #ImwithHer and #MakeAmericaGreatAgain people were very public with who they support. Growing up, it was rare to know who voted for who. My parents didn't even like to discuss it with friends but currently, everyone shares everything. Another aspect in this social media craze is that people love to speak their opinions. They love to speak them so much that they will "unfriend" people on Facebook that don't agree with their opinions. I had a friend post something about the election and within a two hour period lost about 25 friends on Facebook. People have opinions and we all need to accept the fact that not everyone will agree with them. I truly haven't voiced my opinion because of all the hate. I accept everyone's opinion with a clear mind and I think about where everyone comes from on both sides.
