In the days since the election and its shocking result, I've read countless Facebook posts and articles trying to make sense of why this happened to us and to point blame in any which way possible, and others who have offered glimpses of hope in this dark time. I've had time to reflect on my own thoughts and feelings, and how this directly and indirectly affects me and millions of others.

As someone with an intersectional identity - I am a mixed-race woman of color - I feel afraid for my rights and even afraid for my own personal safety. I have heard of horrific acts of violence and hate mongering in the days since the results were made clear.

But hear me when I say this: Now is the time, more than ever before, for us who are marginalized and cast aside by society to go after what we have always wanted. We must go out there and prove everyone wrong who has ever told us that we are not good enough, that we will never amount to anything in life, that there is no point in trying to achieve our goals because of systems that have been in place for centuries. Now, more than ever, we people of color, women, members of the LGBTQ community, immigrants, refugees are obligated to pursue the American Dream for ourselves and for our loved ones.

I have a personal connection to what I am proposing here: I have chosen to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, one which is notorious for its primarily homogenous representation of the creative community. The #OscarsSoWhite debacle is not surprising in the slightest to me, as I made my choice of career knowing full well there would not be many people working in the industry who looked like me or who came from similar backgrounds as me.

But for the majority of the time I've spent pursuing my degree, I have felt inadequate or unworthy of succeeding at what I've wanted to do since I was very young. I have thought countless times "Why me? Why do I deserve to be in this world? I'll never have what it takes to succeed when it's been so difficult for people like me to have careers in this industry?" But I did not realize that it's not about me; it's about fighting for better representation of those who have been marginalized for so long in this country and this industry, and to never stop fighting for those who do not have a voice or a chance to do what I am so privileged to be doing. Our founding fathers did not give us the inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness for us to squander it when something doesn't go our way.

I am in no way negating the real sense of fear that many people have already experienced in the wake of these results. But I want all of the groups mentioned above to persevere in the face of defeat. Be strong and fearless, but never unaware.

In the famous words of Emma Lazarus engraved on the Statue of Liberty, "send me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." We built this nation, and we sure as hell are not going to let it come crumbling down anytime soon.