As a woman, a college student with more than enough loans, the daughter of a union member, and a liberal, the election of Donald Trump shook me. I was in denial all of election night and made the mistake, after watching then President Elect Trump’s acceptance speech, of watching Barack Obama’s speech from 2008. I cried a little. I might have only been in 6th grade when Obama was elected, but campaign coverage was seemingly the only thing, besides football and baseball, allowed on my family's TV in the months leading up to the election. It was when I became politically aware. Even at the age of eleven, watching Obama’s inauguration, I felt such a sense of pride and unity with the people on the TV who were watching it in person. I was proud of my country.
Fast forward eight years to Trump's inauguration. I'm watching with a pit in my stomach. There were so many issues I hold close to my heart, issues that drive me, that I feared were going to be rolled back on. I was angry that a man so divisive was taking the oath of office. Donald Trump promised to “make America great again” but it felt like he was going in the wrong direction.
The tone of the election was one of such negativity. On both sides of the isle, it was us against them. The political divide and vitriol in this country became apparent. It was so bad that I could no longer talk politics with my dad because he was so angry, and we politically agree. I thought we were digging ourselves a deep hole that would take a long time to climb our way out of.
Then something beautiful happened. The morning after the election, my whole family happened to be in Sacramento for my great grandma's memorial. Together my dad, cousins, aunt, and I went to the Sacramento Women’s March. What I experienced was completely unexpected. I knew there would be a large gathering, but I wasn’t expecting 20,000 people. Every age, gender, race, sexuality and religion seemed to be represented. The energy was indescribable. Surrounded by tens of thousands of people whom I had never seen before, in a state I had only visited, I was at home. On that morning, we weren't 20,000 individuals—we were one. Moving through the streets as if we were one large, pink-hat-cladded snake, armed with our signs of defiance. It was similar to the same sense of community and togetherness I felt while attending the Super Bowl parade in Seattle, or attending the Iwakuma no-hitter a couple seasons back, but this time, there was a fire behind it. In sharp comparison to the pit in my stomach I felt only 24 hours before, I felt a blossoming sense of pride. I felt the unity I hadn't felt since long before November ninth. I felt hope. I was shown first-hand what makes America Great.
People from all walks of life banded together that day for the women's march all over the country, and, as the continuing protests since have shown, it was just the beginning.
As individuals, we are silent. Together we are deafening. What makes America great, is our ability to come together. The fear I had of the divide in our country has been devoured by the great pink-hat-cladded snake and the little Muslim girl on her father's shoulders protesting alongside the little Jewish boy on his father's shoulders. As these protests are political, they won't do anything to heal the political divide, but my fear is gone nonetheless. People, everyday people with many differences, came together on January 21st, and haven't stopped since. I felt the unification firsthand, it was a euphoric moment.
The fact that people, everyday people, can come together and make their voices heard loud and proud, it makes America great. Putting politics aside for a moment, isn't it great that we live in a country where you are not only allowed to make your voice heard but where people are so willing to come together, despite their differences, to fight for what they believe in?
We have a turbulent time ahead of us, but I am no longer scared. I am no longer embarrassed to live in Trump’s America. Seeing the outpouring of support—for women and refugees, just to name a few groups—has made me more excited and proud to be an American than I knew possible. It is in hard times that one's true character is shown, and the American people have shown the world something great.
