The election is finally over, and people are either happy or defeated. If you are on the defeated side, then this article is for you. I know a lot of people are scared and worried about what is going to happen now that Donald Trump is president. A lot of us never thought this was going to happen, but it did. We fear the future instead of embracing it, and I am here to tell you that we can't do that. There will be no leaving the country to go to Canada or protesting in the streets. We are Americans; we must walk with our heads high and let nothing bring us down. We don't cower away in defeat, we stand tall and defend our rights. Violence and hate are not the answers, because that is only fighting fire with fire. He is our president, and there is nothing we can do to change that. We must accept it, and instead of hoping for Trump's failure, we should hope he actually succeeds so that we can have the next four years not be miserable. Yes, Trump has said many racist, sexist, homophobic things, and we must stand up against that and not allow it. We must fight for our rights of equality, but in a smart and justified way. Throwing rocks through windows and lighting the American flag on fire are not getting your point across.

It is a tense and upsetting time right now. Just take things one day at a time and stay positive because all we can do is hope for the best. Always remember that this country does not run on a dictatorship. Trump has to go through a lot of people before he can get any of his plans approved. Another positive thing to look at is that some of his plans for this country might actually help our economy. He wants to bring jobs back to America instead of using workers in other countries, which could really help this country. I know it is hard to hear that anything he will do can be positive, but let's face it, he is the president. We either can cry about it for four years, or try and take the small amount of good from all this evil. I know the LGBTQ community is scared for their rights, but as long as we stick together and trust in our checks and balances in the government, we can defend the equality that this country is working so hard towards. We will also not allow racism or sexism. Women's rights will be defended. Planned Parenthood is on Trump's list of things to de-fund, however, Obama is getting a law passed that will make sure Trump cannot mess with the affordability of birth control and cannot defund Planned Parenthood. We will call out any injustices, and if he is caught being prejudiced against any person in this country, then he can always be impeached.

I know it is hard to hear anything about this election anymore, but we need to keep moving forward in a hopeful light. He won't be in office until January, so there is time for this to sink in. Be angry, be upset, be hurt, but when January comes around be hopeful, be positive, and be happy. All we cando is hope he succeeds and actually helps this country instead of destroying it like we all think in our minds right now. Realistically, as much as dislike him, wanting him to fail is wanting this country to fail. Even if you think he is the most vile, disgusting, hateful man in this country, you still have to hope and pray he has a good four years.

This country was built on freedom and democracy, so keep our founding fathers proud and keep America great. I never really liked Trump's slogan of "Make America Great Again," because this country is great. There are a lot of horrible things going on in this country and around the world, but the United States has always been a great nation because we have so much pride and we stand together. So, keep your heads held high and hope the next four years actually are great for this country because hope is all we have so we need to cherish it.