I think everyone can agree that this election was a joke. A cruel joke. We were forced to choose between a racist, sexist, conservative liar and a woman who is under federal investigation for the FBI. I will come right out and say that I voted for Hillary, not just because she is a woman, but for everything she could have made it possible for women to do. I am in college, as some would say is the prime of my life. I could have walked into the workforce making the same amount of money as my male counterpart. Working at a gas station, I could have walked in knowing that the president of the United States, doesn't support me being sexually harassed in a place that I am supposed to feel secure. In 2008, history was made when we elected our first African American president. I believed at the time that that was the catalyst for a better, more accepting future. And the past eight years under Obama have been generally successful. He protected planned parenthood, legalized same-sex marriage in all fifty states, decreased unemployment, and overall provided a positive and pleasant presence in the White House. He never let the fact that he was a minority or a democrat with a Republican congress stand in his way of making change for the better. I thought America respected that. I thought we were abandoning an outdated way of thinking and had accepted that all people, no matter race, sexuality, gender identity, religion, etc, matter.

Trump has been quoted to claim things as that when "Mexico sends its people.. they're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists.." Or this sexist comment about women: "I will make all the Muslim women free to come out, show their goods and feel sexy."

Or consider his statement about Muslim women:

ll Mexicans are rapists", "All Muslims are terrorists", "Women should be punished for having abortions", hell even Pence has stated that he believes in electroshock therapy on the LGBTQ community, but we still elected them into office! When did America become so backwards, like the last eight years of change have meant nothing?

Overall, I don't know what the country will be like with a republican president, house and senate. But I do believe that we have overcome a lot by protesting and knowing what we deserve. With this knowledge, I am proud to live in America, and I believe all the improvements President Obama made will stay, and that his example will sit in the minds of those in charge and sway their future decisions.