November 8th, 2016 will be a day that will go down in history, but not for the correct reasons. What was supposed to be an exciting night for women to break the glass ceiling, turned out to be the complete opposite. Our now president-elect is someone that literally has absolutely no care in the world for women, minorities and the LGBQT community.
On November 9th, 2016 we watched the country sit in somber. The air felt heavy, the mood was very dark and depressing as the entire country tried to piece together what happened just twelve hours before. President Obama tried to give us comfort and solace with this simple phrase. "No matter what happens, the sun will rise in the morning." As much as we tried to find comfort in this, it's literally impossible.
It's impossible to look forward to these next four years when our now President-elect isn't able to relate to everyone in the country. This is the same man who has made vicious remarks about immigrants, women, minorities and the LGBTQ community. This is the same man who thinks his slogan "Make America Great Again" means one thing, when in reality it has the power to completely destroy an entire nation.
While yes, the sun rose..that didn't stop the pain from coming. That didn't stop the tears from flowing. That didn't stop the agony that continues to haunt us for the next several years. It doesn't stop the gut-wrenching feeling that we have to consistently watch our backs to make sure that we're safe.
The pain I'm personally feeling stems from knowing my parents are immigrants. They've spent 30 years in this country, trying to create the American dream for themselves and our family. When Bank of America was robbing countless homeowners with mortgage fraud, my family and my home was caught in the scheme, ultimately causing us to have to short sell our home.
When Obama was elected into office, I took a sigh of relief knowing that change was coming. Hope was very prevalent and it was a beautiful feeling.
Now that his term is coming to a close, I have nothing to look forward to. I don't feel excited about being a college graduate because I don't know if I will have a job once I graduate. I'm too busy worrying about loan forgiveness and finding a stable source of income in case if another recession does hit. I constantly have to ask myself "When is it really going to end?" "When will America be for the minority, when will America be for the woman?"
The answer, unfortunately is never.
It's easy for those with privilege to say "Accept the results for what they are." It will always be easy to accept something that will never directly affect you.
It's hard for those of us who already face adversity to keep running in a race that we feel will honestly never end. How much more fighting do we have to do now, in order to prove the same point as our counterparts?
Yes, the sun came up, but what good is the sun coming up if it doesn't stop the hurt we feel?
