To be quite honest, I am just drained. Drained emotionally, physically, and mentally. This week of news (cough cough the election) sent me into a tailspin, and trying to focus on school among other things became much harder. I became scared, scared for my future, scared for my family's future, and scared for the future of the children growing up in the United States right now. It was hard to see all the hate crimes, violence, and the bullying taking place in schools, across the country that happened immediately after the election was decided. Its hard to not get drawn in to the newsfeed, and just sad and hopeless from what we see the world around us becoming. I realized that I couldn't not write about it this week, because THIS IS ALL THAT I CAN THINK ABOUT since Tuesday night. I would love for everything to feel ordinary again, but it doesn't and it can't.

I digress, however because the focus is no longer on Trump, I have found myself wrestling with this anger inside me. Anger that has been caused by hurt and insecurity I feel surrounding my identity, that I cannot seem to move past, and I fear who it will make me become. I don't want to carry that anger, or that contempt towards anyone. And with that, I would like to focus on a quote that I think is more important now than ever. In the wake of this nation divided.

"An eye for an eye makes the world go blind"

There is a lot of divide right now, between our communities, and for some even amongst family. Many have told me how they are afraid of the holidays, and how to approach certain members of their families. But I think the idea of forgiveness is so important now. I understand the anger, and pain everyone feels after this election, but we cannot let that cloud our love for one another and ability to forgive. We are a nation that continually proves that in adversity we grow stronger, and that in growth we make positive change. "Love Trumps hate," and I believe love will triumph if only we focus on forgiveness. We should forgive those we don't and may never even understand. Because if we hold hate in our hearts towards one another, we all lose, and I fear we will become everything we are standing up against. So I encourage you to forgive those you can, and try and understand those you cannot. Lets move on together America, and make this a place that WE ALL feel safe and loved in.