As the title suggests, I'm a Republican, born and raised, just like most people in my small town in Pennsylvania. Cambria County has voted red as long as anyone here can remember, even when the state goes blue, which is what it tends to do. Except for this year.

Pennsylvania surprised everyone by going red for the first time since George H. W. Bush won in 1988. Ordinarily, this upset wouldn't have bothered me in the slightest. I'm Republican after all, and I'm generally loyal to my party, so I would have been happy to see a conservative win my home state. But this was no ordinary election, and the conservative candidate was no ordinary candidate.

This election, my first election, my options were Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump (and Gary Johnson and Jill Stein and, later, Evin McMullen, but I digress). Not great options, but my options none the less. And I take my civil duty of voting very seriously, so not voting was never an option. So I was stuck between my party's nominee - a wild, outspoken, controversial man - and the Democratic nominee - a woman with a shady background and conspiracies galore surrounding her. I was in quite a predicament, but I looked at my options and made the decision (much to my family's chagrin) that I would be giving my vote to Hillary Clinton.

I chose Hillary Clinton mostly for the sheer fact that she was not Donald Trump. Mr. Trump was not someone I could, in good faith, vote for after the strong rhetoric he used against minority groups. I did not vote so much for Hillary Clinton as I did against Donald Trump. I disagree with Secretary Clinton on a lot of things (most of all, abortion), and I agree with a lot of what Mr. Trump says he agrees with, but the man I saw on TV at rallies and at debates and the man that everyone claimed could "make American great again" with his business savvy were not the same person, and the man I could see was not a man I could see as my president.

But the election came and went. I cast my vote for Secretary Clinton (along with over 62 million other people), but we lost the Electoral College, and Mr. Donald J. Trump became the 45th president of the United States of America (well, starting January 20th).

It was, and is, a tough pill to swallow. I couldn't fathom it. How people could vote for this crass, insensitive, hateful man I saw in every debate and every morning and night on the news? The man who wants to deport all Mexicans and ban all Muslims and rapes women and all sorts of terrible, horrible things? I felt all of the righteous indignation that many Democrats were feeling.

I still struggle with the severity of what he has said since the start of the election season, but I've had some time to take a step back and reexamine what has happened and what will happen.

Do I agree with everything Mr. Trump says to do? No. That will never change. I don't agree with his decision to make Steve Bannon his strategist or Jeff Sessions his attorney general. I don't agree with his ban on Muslims. I don't agree with Mike Pence's stance on conversion therapy for members of the LGBTQ+ community. I think Mr. Trump, in light of his recent settlement regarding Trump University, needs to be watched with extreme scrutiny so that he does not run our country the same way he ran his university.

But do I agree completely with everything any one person has ever said? Of course not.

Do I agree that immigration needs reformed? Yes. Do I think Washington and the "political machine" need to be shaken up a bit with some term limits and such? Yes. Do I think the terrorism and ISIS problems need a fresh pair of eyes on them? Yes. I agree with some of the things Donald Trump is planning to do. (Will he do them? That's anybody's guess.)

I've been told that if I agree with Donald Trump under any circumstance, I am taking a stance against oppressed groups. I don't think that that's the case. I am an ally of the LGBTQ+ community. If I see a woman with a hijab or a black man in a hoodie or anybody else who has been stereotyped negatively, I will smile and treat them like a human being with all of the respect to which they are entitled. And if Mr. Trump's administration tries to infringe on the basic of rights of any group, I will stand and fight for their rights.

I understand why many voted for Mr. Trump in spite of his rhetoric. They saw (and see) a man that promises to bring back their industrial jobs and supports the Second Amendment and to take America back to the "good old days" that they remember. I get it. I know they're not all bad people that vandalize black churches in the name of Trump or tear hijabs off of Muslim women or chant "build a wall" at Hispanic (looking) people. Most of them are good people who just want to build a better life for themselves and their families. They see Washington not doing that, and they pray every night that Mr. Trump will bring about the change they so desperately need.

But until that day comes, I will not be protesting the outcome of the election. I will not be saying "he is not my president." I will respect the decision that has been made by the Electoral College (which, by the way, does not actually vote until December). I will watch him very closely the next four years, along with the rest of America, waiting to see what he does next.

And during these next four years, we must come together. We must support each other, no matter what comes. I have seen Democrats and Republicans alike slinging insults at each other, calling each other "lib-tards" and racists and all sorts of horrible things. Not everyone that voted for Mr. Trump is racist, sexist, xenophobic, or a generally hateful person. Most of them are good people who did what they thought was best for their country (my own family included). And not everyone that voted for Secretary Clinton is a "baby-murdering liar." (This is an actual accusation I read. The Internet is a scary place.) Most of her supporters are good people (myself included).

The hate must stop. The violence must stop. The divisions must end. We all need support during this time, no matter what.

In the words of Ellen Degeneres, "Be kind to one another."