Your Playlist For The 2016 Election Results
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Politics

Your Playlist For The 2016 Election Results

If you're feeling a bit down about President....Trump.

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Your Playlist For The 2016 Election Results
SABC News

On the morning of November 9th, I felt like I was walking around my college campus with an overwhelming dark raincloud over my head. Every glance that I shared with someone was filled with a knowing look of melancholy, and defeat seemed to be the popular aesthetic throughout my friend group. I'll never forget waking up at 6:59am exactly (after fighting my subconscious to wake up and check the results), and seeing the Buzzfeed notification that read, "Donald J. Trump will be the President-Elect of the United States." I'll admit that I needed a definite mood-booster throughout my entire day, but I couldn't find the motivation to even escape this alternate reality that we had entered into.

Luckily, the wide range of emotions that I felt immediately after the results have reasonably subsided, and I think I have them under control. Although I am not completely feeling back to normal, I have managed to get a handle on some form of healing therapy. Whenever I am faced with a situation that seems impossible to fix - I find some power in the escapism of music. Here's what I have been listening to on Spotify, to cure my President Trump blues.

1. "Come Together" - The Beatles

I doubt anyone has been able to avoid the lengthy Facebook posts, tweets, or Tumblr posts that have surfaced in these past days. It is almost impossible to feel like we are all on the same page when people are expressing (sometimes harshly) their political views for all to hear. Sometimes, I feel as though there is such a divide in this country that we barely deserve to be recognized as The "United" States of America. When President Obama addressed the country on Wednesday, he could not put enough emphasis on the fact that we are all on the same team - so let's try and act like it.

2. "Smile" - Charlie Chaplin/Robert Downey Jr.

It breaks my heart when I see pictures making their way online of groups of people crying and overwhelmed with devastation in the wake of these results. I'll admit, I did want to do the same - and I let myself do that for a little bit. However, it is in these hardest times when we must put our brave faces on and look at each other with hope, and smiling faces, leaving the tears behind. Yes, we of course need to pay attentions to our emotions at their full capacity - it makes us human. Yet, when we have finished crying our tears, we have to realize that there is really no use in letting them continue. We can't fight a battle with teary, blurry-eyed vision.

3. "Wait For It" - Hamilton

This election brought us the possibility that many women and young girls have been waiting for - a female president in office. Unfortunately, that was not the result that we woke up to on Wednesday morning. Even if you are not happy with the election results for other reasons, we must hope that there is something better in the future. It is important to remember that in our nation's history, our country has weathered many difficult elections with questionable leadership results. So, we bide our time, and we wait patiently. We wait for things to get better, and for change on the horizon. The year 2020 may seem so far away, but it will come faster than we expect.

4. "Light Me Up" - Ingrid Michaelson

Defeat is a powerful feeling that I have seen expressed on many faces as I walk around my college campus. Yet, we do have the power to change defeat into motivation and to use it as fuel. I do not support violent or dangerous protests, but I do support a flame being ignited in people when they want to fight for what they believe in more than ever. Perhaps this is what we need to feel inspired to make a change, to stand up for what we believe, and to get our voices heard. If they weren't heard loud enough in the polls, than we make them heard now.

5. "Do It Now" - Ingrid Michaelson

These are the results that we have to accept, and we can't go back and alter them or alter our reality. Instead, we can take action immediately as individuals to support the causes that we believe in. For instance, I know for a fact that people are rushing to make donations to Planned Parenthood, and are in fact compiling lists of things that they can do in the wake of these results. The election results don't have any effect on you as an individual and they do not lessen the change that you can make just by taking action in this present moment.

6. "Life Keeps Moving On" - Ben Rector

No matter what I say, this still is depressing. Sometimes, it's okay to wallow in that and let that emotion happen. But, President Obama promised us that the sun would in fact rise after the election results, and, it did. This isn't going to be a great couple of months, maybe even years, for our country - but this too shall pass. This planet that we live on doesn't care who is at the helm of this country, it's going to keep on spinning without a care. You can't always get what you want, but you can be sure that life will keep rolling along, and you can't just ignore it.

7. "The World Will Know" - Newsies

For many of us, this was the first election that we could vote in, so we were especially enthusiastic about getting our voices heard. We might be younger than the rest of the voters, but we already have our own values and beliefs about the administration of this country. I don't have one friend who didn't have a strong opinion on either candidate, which makes me proud to be part of a generation with such a passionate connection to the country that they live in. That being said, we have the potential to get quite energetic with our reactions. So, you might be misunderstood. Despite that, don't let anyone tell you that you are being melodramatic - we should be treated with respect.

8. "Someday" - Rob Thomas

There will always be problems in our country, no matter who is in control. Unfortunately, we are living in a world that is often fueled by hate, prejudice, ignorance, racism, and sexism. We can't rewire every single person in this country who has these hurtful views, we can only hope that a change will come sometime in the future (even if we have to wait until 2020 to have a better role model in The White House). At the same time, let's not lose faith in our country and become unsure if it is our home anymore - we can't go that far backwards. We can only hope that things are going to improve, even though that might not be as soon as today or tomorrow.

These are some of the highlights on the playlist that is bringing me some joy and rejuvenation lately. I don't pretend to know everything about politics or policies, but I do know that we all have the right to be feeling down about how this election has concluded. Now, more than ever, we need to find ways to wake up, refresh, motivate, and charge full speed ahead.

So, go ahead, press play, and start finding ways to make your voice heard above all of this noise.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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