Every day since the election, I have woken up terrified.
Terrified for all people of color.
Terrified for all undocumented people.
Terrified for all Muslims.
Terrified for all differently abled people.
Terrified for all women.
Terrified for all other LGBTQ+ people.
Terrified for those in the Global South.
Terrified for myself and my own body.
Terrified for all activists.
Terrified for everyone who doesn’t look like Donald Trump.
Every day since the election, I have woken up feeling utter despair.
Despair over the fact that the first black president will be succeeded by a white supremacist.
Despair over the fact that a man who bragged about sexual assault has been elected to the highest office in this country.
Despair over the fact that openly talking about banning all Muslims and closing down mosques somehow isn’t disqualifying.
Despair over the fact that this country keeps blaming undocumented immigrants for its own failures.
Despair over the fact that the future Vice President of the United States believes in electroshock therapy for LGBTQ+ kids.
Despair over the fact that with a Republican House and Senate, a Trump/Pence Administration has immense political power.
Despair over the fact that Trump will be able to pick new Supreme Court members.
Despair over the fact that the Right Wing has control over almost the entire government.
Despair over the fact that the election has emboldened bigots like the KKK.
Despair over the fact that the damage done by Trump will likely be felt for decades.
Despair over the fact that horrifying instances of violence against marginalized people have been on the rise already.
Despair over the fact that trans suicides have risen dramatically.
Despair over the fact that a man like Trump has control of the US military.
Despair over the fact that Trump's blatantly racist ideas are already becoming normalized.
Despair over the fact that this country is so profoundly racist that it would elect a comically incompetent man with no political experience just to uphold white supremacy.
But every day since the election, I have woken up feeling hope as well.
Hope because I’ve seen unprecedented solidarity from all people in the past few days.
Hope because now that the threat is in front of us, we are all willing to stand together.
Hope because I have seen thousands upon thousands of people take to the streets and protest.
Hope because even the power of the President is dwarfed by the power of our communities.
Every day since the election, I woke up knowing somehow we will survive this.