Breathe… That is the first thing I had to tell myself when I looked at my Facebook on Wednesday morning. I was feeling a lot of different emotions- fear, uncertainty, anguish, and confusion, to name a few. This outcome was not what I had expected to see, either. In fact, I had not expected that in my first voting experience, I would be choosing between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, who are very different on levels of morals, social values, and political experience overall. Being in the overwhelmingly Republican state of South Carolina, I feel like my vote didn’t matter much. But nevertheless, I felt accomplished at finally being able to represent myself in a national poll.

It has been a very tense, emotionally draining week at my college. Yes, I have ranted constantly to everyone about how livid I am, along with how afraid I am for the immigrants, women, the LGBTQ community, and other minorities in this country. Furthermore, I am still trying to understand why some voted for Hillary, some for Trump, and others flat out refused to vote or they voted for third parties. I am very firm in my beliefs about this election, and I honestly wish I was waking up from a nightmare. This has just been a very surreal experience, but the results are in. We as the American people cannot change the outcome of this close election.

Now I believe that while it is important to have the right to express yourself out of happiness and anger, I think it is equally vital that we all remain respectful of one another, regardless of political views. Yes, I am at fault here because I posted a passionate message on Facebook about the election and I was not favorably shouting out to Donald Trump and to those who voted for different candidates than I myself voted for. I was in disbelief that morning, and I still am at this moment. Yes, I have been shocked to find that some of my friends supported certain candidates, but whenever I talk to people about the election who have differing beliefs, I respectfully ask them about it and listen to their perspective. I want to remain as open-minded as I can so I can try to understand why things happened this way. However, that does not mean my values will change, nor will I be able to fully digest the implications of our country’s presidential decision of 2016. The best thing we can all do is just accept what happened, carry on with our lives, and continue to fight for what we believe in when our rights and freedoms are questioned or infringed upon.

Like our wonderful President Obama said, there is always going to be a divide during elections. One half of the country is overjoyed and throwing parties, while the other is sulking and preparing for the worst case scenario. We are all still rooting for the same team in the end, despite the outcome. And we need to treat our family, friends, and enemies with the same dignity and respect we ourselves want when we may have a dissenting opinion. Despite the odds, stay optimistic and focus on what you as an individual can do to bring positive change to the United States. Spread love, as it will always trump hate. Accept, respect, and honor one’s values and limitations. Do not let fear-based anger and hatred divide us further; we are stronger together as one people, not millions of persons. Keep a positive mindset and open yourself to new opinions, but you don’t always have to agree. Most importantly, stay true to yourself.

God bless all of you.