** These views are not affiliated or held by Hollins University. These are my own individual views and experiences. **
I walk down my hall on my way to class. I look at most people’s doors as I pass by. I feel a weight steady growing on my chest at each door I pass. I walk out my dorm and instantly the dread and despair is characterized in everything. It rained last night. I don’t hear leaves crumpled or stepped on. I don’t hear the squirrels or even see them run across my path. It’s like they know it’s a sad day for America. Everything is dull and gray. Just yesterday, it was a warm, bright, and hopeful day. Today is the total opposite. I worry for the lives of everyone on my campus. I live on a campus that has more intersectional identities than I have ever seen. I go to an all-women’s college. I see women who are scared because they are women. I see people who are scared because they are people of color. I see people who are scared because they are on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. I see people who are scared because they may be a part of each identity.
People shouldn’t have to be sincerely scared of their next president. The suicide hotlines should not be overwhelmed and busy. I should not have to scroll through my Facebook timeline and read posts about fear from marginalized groups. I shouldn’t have to unfollow or unfriend old “friends” because they support a man with such views. I shouldn’t have to offer my hugs in a negative light. I shouldn’t have to lay down blankets and pillows for a friend who is too scared to sleep in her own room. I shouldn’t have to hold my friends as they cry at 3 AM, fearing for their lives and their family’s lives.
But I did have to comfort them in the wee hours of the night as they shook and sobbed. I did have to sit there on the common room floor and feel powerless. I did have to shed tears as I watched my brave, strong, intelligent, amazing friends break down. I did have to see a side of them I had hoped I wouldn’t see. I did have to hold back my own tears for them, because if I had let myself do so then I might have ended up throwing up. I might have punched a hole into my computer screen. I might have ran into the cold, onto the soccer field and screamed obscenities as the rain smacked me in the face.
This is not a happy day for the majority of my campus. The majority of people are offering their love, their ear, their warm embrace, their room as a safe space, and their support. I love seeing my community support each other, but I wish it wasn’t like this. I prefer to see my community come together as we climb a mountain; not rally because we have a sexist, a racist, a misogynistic, a bigot, an anti-LGBTQ+ monster as the next person to run our country.
This day was supposed to be historical. Women across the nation were supposed to win. LGBTQ+ people were supposed to win. People of color were supposed to win. Allies of these groups and many more were supposed to win. But instead, people are skipping classes and comforting each other because of the fear and divide this country has felt in the last 8 hours. The progress this country has made, has now backtracked about 30 steps.
I’m not looking to start anything or cause an even bigger divide. No, the point of this article is to offer my support for all those who wept as CNN reported that Hillary conceded the election. I am here for you. I offer you my love, my light, and my support. We won’t let the bigot get us down. But today, cry. Cry and cope as you need to.
The point of this article is to shed some light on the kind of country Trump has already created. To shed some light on the lives of people Trump voters and supporters have affected. I want this to be informative. I want you to think about what is happening in our country outside your little bubble. I want you to be concerned.
