Donald Trump was elected the next President of the United States on November 9 in the early morning hours. Across the nation, a variety of emotions were felt and expressed. Purdue University is in Tippecanoe County in Indiana. This county, in particular, voted red. (Trump: 49.6%, Clinton: 43.9%, Johnson: 6.5%)

Here are the raw, unfiltered thoughts of students who attend this institution.

1. I want to turn emotion into action, it's on us now.

As an election that came with no shortage of emotion comes to a close, it is time to turn our emotion into action. When it’s all said and done, at the end of the day it’s the individual who will make America great again. The power to create change rests not in a president or party, it rests within you. When you choose hope for the future over dismay and pessimism of the past. When you choose to look with faith on your nation over doubt and worry. When you choose respect for your neighbor, their beliefs, and their values over the need to be “right”. When you choose to see the world through compassionate eyes instead of ones that are selfish and cruel. When you choose to speak and act with kindness instead of for power and glory. And when you choose love over a hardened heart because, in the end, love always wins.

-Andrea Choka

2. We have to focus on being individually good.

The best thing you can do right now is focus -- with unwavering intensity -- on being a good person. To further politicize and divide an already wounded country will mean taking more steps backward than we already have. The results of this election will surely test our resolve, but it will not prevent decent people from being decent.

--Dillon Havens

3. I accept the outcome, but I want us to come together.

I completely respect and accept the outcome of this election, but I am sad for those who are genuinely scared. I am a straight, white, catholic female so this election doesn’t affect me the same way it affects others. My heart breaks for those that woke up on November 9th feeling fearful because of who they are. Regardless of political views or identities, my hope is that everyone will try to feel empathy for those who are scared. I hope we work together as a nation to not let the prejudices that have become amplified by this election tear us apart. I hope that in the wake of this election people spread love and understanding, and not hate.

-- Anonymous

4. I'm ashamed and appalled.

Personally, I am ashamed of the outcome of this election. It’s apparent that morals were not considered while voting. I can’t put into words how annoyed I am. One thing that really irks me is all the write-in votes. The fact that Harambe got 11,000 makes me so incredibly disappointed in our generation. Overall Trump will either ruin America or do nothing, I’m hoping the second option is the outcome. We chose a racist, sexists, idiot over the first woman president, I’m appalled. That is all I’ll say before I get too offensive.

-Madelyn T

5. I'm disenchanted, but I want to work together.

I’m angry. I am disenchanted. And, I feel more vulnerable than ever over the fact that I was born a woman. I don’t want to think it, but to me, it’s all about gender. I try to look at things objectively, which is why I struggle with this result. We, the American people were tasked with hiring a president. We were given two resumes. One had a lifetime of experience in civic duty, poise with handling difficult issues, and elegance in speaking to all groups.The other was an angry, politically un-correct candidate who gave voice to the anger and resentment that people feel toward the government.

Nine times out of ten, if this were a job interview, I would expect the first candidate to get the job. Experience. Poise. Elegance. But this resume was a woman. And those very things that would normally be resume-boosters are the exact things that people were mad about. Too much experience in the political arena. Too hard to relate to and too upper-class to understand. In my mind, it doesn’t equate. Yet, the people chose to feed their anger and choose the candidate that represents hate.

But now, I must move on, because I don’t want to be the pot calling the kettle black. I, too, wish for change in America. So, therefore, I wish the best to President Trump and the best for America, because I love America. I want us to be greater than ever. But, I want us to be together and not divided. May America be great again and stronger together.

-Mikaela Wieland

6. I voted my beliefs, but I choose love.

I understand that in choosing to vote, I am expressing outwardly my beliefs about the world. However, my one vote does not tell the whole story. I did not choose the lesser of the two evils. I did not choose one because I hate the other. I choose Trump because I believe that as humans, we are imperfect beings. As a Christian, gun-owning female, I had to make the decision to put some of my identities above others.

I believe in the right to life, from conception to death. I believe our forefathers gave us the right to bear arms as a means to relieve ourselves of oppression in any form. I believe as a female, that no man should ever speak to any woman in a way that Donald Trump has.

Then I’m reminded, how often as a society are we quick to blame the female victim when rape occurs? How often do we sexualize women to make profits in advertising? What woman has never been cat-called in her life? Does this make any of it right? Absolutely not. Should he be held to a higher standard because he is in a position of power?

Absolutely, but he is human. We are all human. I do not support a majority of the ideas that he presents. I think his attitude needs an adjustment. However, we find common ground on the issues closest to my heart. That does not mean I love the LGBTQ community any less. It does not mean my heart and arms are closed to immigrants. It just means that when It came time to make a decision, I choose the best candidate for me. It breaks my heart to know that one vote is enough to turn friends into enemies. We have become a country that mistakes an X on a ballot with a person’s whole identity. One man and one vote is not the be all end all.

-Olivia O’Connor

7. I agree, but I don't celebrate.

Donald Trump was certainly far, far, from my first choice for President of the United States, however, I do feel that he was the lesser of the two evils in this circumstance. I am in no way in a "celebratory" mood over his victory, as of course, I wish this painful choice between two extremely flawed people, was not one we as Americans were forced to make in the first place.

As a woman, I know that someday I will see a female president and when that time comes I hope that she will have the qualities that Hillary Clinton so unfortunately lacked, qualities that kept me from voting for her. I hope that she will be honest, trustworthy, and above all HONORABLE.

I hope that she will not make the same critical mistakes Hillary Clinton made that would cost her the presidency. I hope that the next time I exercise my right to vote I will do so free of guilt, knowing without a fragment of a doubt I made the best choice. I hope that we can join together and realize that this nation is bigger than Clinton, bigger than Trump, bigger that all that divides us and that we may heal as a nation.

-Anonymous

8. I'm disheartened, let's unite.

I am moderately a Republican, but as a woman, there was a part of me that wanted to see the first female President. I watched the historical election race for hours, refreshing the internet tab every few minutes. I cheered for Trump but I kept a close watch on Clinton’s electoral votes too. It was conflicting. I know politics is about politics. But for me, my first election to vote in was about gender.

As I watched Hillary’s concession speech, I wanted to cry. Today is not the day the glass ceiling was broken. It makes me wonder when, if not now. I believe it will happen, it must not have been meant for Hillary. I still support Trump, after watching his speech at 3 a.m. last night. However, something inside me is disheartened after this whole election. I have seen negative, hurtful views from my millennial friends on feminism and women’s rights, and it lights a fire inside of me.

Something Hillary said stood out to me, “To all the little girls watching...never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world.” I will not worry. A woman will have another chance to run the White House someday. But, the first and foremost problem as a divided nation is to work to be strongly united, to truly make America great again.

-Anonymous

9. I'm saddened by voting turn out, let's look for the best in this situation.

As an international, I obviously can’t vote. But I am really disappointed in the fact that many millennials did not vote. Actually not just millennials, but just citizens in general. Our lives are going to be affected by this the most. The old conservatives will always vote and if our true reasoning for not voting is that “oh my vote doesn’t matter anyway,” or “I hate both of them,” then we are not performing our civic duty as we should be. It’s our moral obligation to elect someone we think is the best fit. Not who we completely agree with, but electing someone who we think best represents our nation out of the two. Half the country thinks Donald Trump should be president. That shocks me because Trump supporters scare me to an extent. I am not a proponent of Hillary Clinton either, but if I had to pick right now, if my life was on the line, I’d pick her.

And what is up with Gary Johnson? Is he for real? I cannot believe that he even got 6% of the votes. Have you heard him speak? A vote on the third party is a wasted vote, they are NEVER going to win. It saddens and infuriates me even more to know that Harambe got 11,000 votes. It shows the lack of maturity in people who reside in this nation.

This is outrageous. Get over Harambe, this is about running a country. Trump hast yet to prove his worth, but his degrading comments about women disrespect me to the core. How can women support this man? He promotes rape culture, he talks about “grabbing them by the pussy,” etc. I am truly at a loss for words. Bernie Sanders should have been the Democratic nominee and he should have won. However, we can hate all the want, but it won’t change the fact that he is the president of this country. We can’t let this get to us, and who knows, maybe, just maybe, he will turn out to be a decent guy in his presidency. We can hope for the best, but we must carry on with our lives. The sun still rises every morning, there is a lot to smile about. Do the best you can to make a difference, that is all you can do; the rest is truly out of your control.

-Anushka Bose

10. I want to support him, let's give him a chance.

I am Republican, and Donald and Hillary were not my first choices to be president, but ultimately, they were our choices. I decided to vote for the lesser of two evils, and I have chosen to not reveal this because I know I will lose many friends for my viewpoint. I know Donald has said many incredibly rude and vile things, but Hillary wasn’t exactly an angel either. Ultimately, America chose Trump for our next President and there’s nothing else we can do about it. We did our part by voting and casting our ballots for Trump or Hillary. Now it’s time to take a deep breath, and move on.

President Obama and Secretary Clinton have both asked Americans, whether you’re a republican or a democrat, to give him a chance. They are right. It’s time to move over our petty disagreements and try our best to help Mr. Trump run a successful presidency, because, in the end, if he is not successful as a president then our country will not be successful. So, although many of us do not support Trump as being a President, we must have hope that he will try and unite our country as a whole and make sure he accepts this huge responsibility America has given him and be extremely professional as the figurehead of our nation.

-Kate Parks

11. Sadly, it's not a joke. Let's look for peace.

A lot of emotions and thoughts have been running through my head since the beginning of this election. I was stunned by the number of candidates running at first, and literally took everything as a joke. I watched my favorite comedians talk about the candidates and basically everything that happened with Donald Trump I would laugh about. Everyone spoke about how, “This is the best joke of America.” Somehow, he kept running, and I kept thinking it was hilarious until he was the last man standing.

The joke was done, reality set, and all of a sudden I was not laughing anymore. I was scared, confused, and worried about how this all happened. Maybe this happens to everyone the first time they get to vote for a President. Maybe this is how it works. But, I’m not sure I am okay with that… Regardless, it is time to accept the facts, realize he is in, and begin to start looking toward how my voice can still be heard amidst the chaos. I know that as the months go on, things will settle down, and peace can be found in all the noise.

-Abby F

12. I'm sad for LGBTQ rights.

The hardest part has been seeing my LGBTQ friends have a hard time because of the election results. One of my trans friends was approached in a Wal-Mart and was told to leave the country before it became legal to kill people like him. He was approached in public and harassed but nobody did anything and now we're afraid nobody will do anything. The people who are riding on Trump’s win are the ones that are terrifying. We shouldn't have to leave a country to survive and we shouldn't have to be afraid or harassed.

-Anonymous