I’m scared.

I’ve never felt so petrified with fear. I’ve never seen others so terrified of our future. The announcement of Trump’s presidency win has shocked me to my core, and it doesn’t feel real. Because when in U.S. history has an election resulted in tears across the country? Tears of fear caused by the winner of the presidential race.

I’m scared.

I’m scared for my family. For my relatives who immigrated to the United States. For my relatives who may be affected by Trump’s stances on immigration. For my mother, who texted me as the votes came in at one in the morning, telling me to go to sleep while she hopes for a miracle. For my sister-in-law in the Air Force, who could be deployed, should Trump declare war anytime within the next four years.

I’m scared for my friends. For my friends who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, who fear our future vice president. Mike Pence supports gay conversion therapy, and I fear for everyone in the United States who felt that we had finally begun to reach equality for LGBTQ+ individuals. In 2011, Trump himself said that he didn’t support gay marriage and didn’t believe in same-sex partner benefits. I’m scared for the people who yet again feel as though their love is not valid. I’m scared for the people who no longer feel comfortable being themselves.

I’m scared for the United States.

For every Muslim, who fears their own culture and religion now more than ever. For the girls who were told by their mothers to not wear their hijabs after Trump’s win in fear of being persecuted.

For every immigrant, who fears they will be taken from their homes and sent away, never allowed to return again. For the immigrant parents who work as hard as every other citizen in this country to give their children a future better than the past they came from. For the people who came to this country with hopes of a new life, of a democracy, of a place where they are seen as people who matter.

For every disabled individual, who heard Donald Trump openly mock the disabled. For those who will have a president that invalidates them and clearly doesn’t care about their welfare or wellbeing.

For every person of color, who have already been living in fear, and will only continue to do so for the next four years.

For every woman. Every little girl and every teenager and every adult whose rights are being decided for them by men who think they have any say whatsoever over a woman’s body. For every woman who has ever needed an abortion, and for every woman who may need one in the future, because Donald Trump has time and time again said he wants to overturn Roe v. Wade and return abortion laws in the states. For every woman who has been sexually assaulted. For every one out of four women in college who have been sexually assaulted, and now a man who bragged about sexual assault has been elected president. There are no words for the fear I bear for men and women alike who have been sexually assaulted and now feel invalidated by Trump’s presidency.

For the world. For every country who watched our election with held breaths, because whoever our leader is directly affects the way the rest of the world acts. My cousin texted me from the Netherlands immediately following the election and said that he had a spare bedroom in his house in case I wanted to leave the United States. But even there, I wouldn’t be able to escape this fate.

I’ve seen so many posts about how “this is not our America”. But it is. This is exactly the America it’s been for the last two centuries. This country was built on systematic racism and the superiority of white male authority, and this election could not be more evidence of that.

But it’s not Trump that I am afraid of. It’s the half of the country that voted for him. The half of the country that heard him spew misogynist, homophobic, xenophobic, and racist things and gave him their votes. Because his presidency just validated them. They will have a president who openly insults others, and they will think that it’s okay to do that.

And that’s why we cannot “move to Canada”. This is our America. And if we want anything to change, we cannot give up on it. We cannot let fear keep us from fighting for an America that we would be proud to live in. You say that America fucked up with this election? Prove it. Prove that you care. Make a difference. Fight for an America you’d want to raise your children in.