Strings of orange lights left over from Halloween hang above a crowded room of terrified college kids. Political conversation dominates the atmosphere, eyes fixed on the CNN election coverage playing on the small television screen. It is almost midnight on November 8, 2016, I'm sitting in the lounge of my residence hall floor and everyone is freaking out."This is heartbreaking" someone yells. A barrage of remarks follow in agreement as everyone shares their shock, collectively as a floor and as the future of America. Silence suddenly takes over the room as another state projection is announced, the orange glow illuminating the terror plastered over students faces. CNN announces that Florida has gone red. Trump just took one of the most critical states in the election. The room explodes. "I just thought people were better than this" I hear a distressed voice blurt out. Trump has a healthy lead and now only time can reveal the fate of our nation and the free world as we know it. Meanwhile Twitter is lit. Like stupid, freaking lit. People are going at folks' lives over poorly informed, politically charged tweets and half-thought-out opinionated nonsense. I don't think I've ever witnessed more cyber tension among my peers. To my knowledge, I have never been blocked by anyone on any social platform. Tonight someone actually blocked me on Twitter for what I can only assume was because of a tweet I liked. If that doesn't speak volumes about the degree of passion attached to this historic series of events then I don't know what will. Anderson Cooper called it "a revolution in American politics." Welcome to the revolution everyone. This is our America. Later into the night as it became clear that Trump wasn't going to blow his lead my floor mates began filing out to cry themselves to sleep. Although it appears to be Trump fueled disappointment, I have a sneaking suspicion that a similar response would have occurred despite the winner of this election. "We had to choose between a rapist and a war criminal," someone says on their way out the door, "How the f--- did this happen?" I don't know bro. But this is history.
It's almost three am. Finally, the biggest headline of the decade pops up on screen: "Donald Trump elected US president" I think we're all still a little shocked. He gives a relatively gracious, surprisingly calm speech outlining plans and thanking many. My friends and I listen intently. Some are silently happy, some are just relieved they can finally go to bed. Some are crying their eyes out. I don't know what's going to happen the next four years. No one knows. I can't stop wondering how big of an event this will turn out to be. I wonder if we'll look back at this day and these events in the same way that my parents look back at watergate or how my grandparents reminisce over the Cold War and Cuban missile crisis. I guess it really all depends on how this whole thing turns out.