In the early morning hours of November 9th, Hillary Clinton supporters found themselves slowly losing hope. With only a few states remaining, and Trump adding 29 electoral votes to his count with his win over Florida, the chances of Hillary Clinton rising as the first female president dwindled, and hearts all across America broke. What was supposed to be an election night party of celebration in NYC, ended with tears and left many wondering what went wrong...

Coming from an area of intense Republicans, it was never easy to voice my opinion on Hillary. Hillary Clinton is an unbelievable woman. The values and beliefs that she stands for are incredible. The battles that she has been faced with, yet overcome are also incredible. She has been publicly humiliated by her cheating husband, and faced a rough campaign season against Donald Trump. I respect her as a human being, and I admire a lot of what she represents. All throughout the campaign I "stood with her." I supported a lot of what she suggested, and I was confident in her abilities to run our nation.

On November 8th, 2016, I, being a 19 year old with the ability to vote for the first time right under my wing, was of the first 50 voters at my designated location. I walked through the doors thinking I was "with her." I received my ballot thinking I was, "with her." As I got to the voting booth, and stared at my ballot, a lot came to mind. I thought about all I had seen on the news in the past few years. I thought about the shooting at Pulse Night Club in Orlando, and all of the innocent lives that ended that night. I also thought about the night one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Paris, shut down in response to terrorist attacks. I thought about the fear that I face when it comes to flying in America, and I decided that was it. I wasn't, "with her."

I wasn't "with her," because it's time for a change. We need a change. If Obama's administration should have taught us anything, it's courage. We need to be courageous and unafraid of change. Before Obama, there was no marriage equality. We rejected the rights of people to get married, simply because of the gender of which they loved. He forced us to open up our minds and to support those that are different because no matter how different we all are, we all make up this one great nation. In order for this nation to remain great, and to reach an even higher level of greatness we need to open our minds to the change that Donald J. Trump is about to bring.

My vote went towards Donald Trump not because he's perfect. He's far from perfect, as we've seen time and time again, but he's human. He's honest. He says what comes to mind, and all throughout the campaign he spoke the truth even if some of us were too afraid to hear it. We shouldn't have to be afraid within our own borders because of the people that our government is allowing to enter. Am I suggesting we "BUILD THAT WALL," and kick everyone of a minority out? No, not at all! Like Trump, I agree with the idea of tightening our borders, and putting a hold on the number of immigrants we allow to enter, when we haven't a clue their background or intentions here in America. We need to step up and rise to our full potentials. We're one of the greatest, most powerful countries in the world. We shouldn't be living in fear of ISIS because WE are allowing them into OUR country. If there's anything I want to see come out of the next four years it's courage.

To Trump supporters,

I stood with you. I used my vote in your favor on November 8th, and I'm proud that I did so. Donald Trump is a tough man, who is attempting to piece back together an intensely corrupted government. He's going to work to better the working class, monitor who enters our home, and keep us safe for the next four years. I'm proud that I put my personal feelings aside, and took the leap to be a part of that change.

To Clinton supporters,

I realize you're feeling defeated. I realize there's hearts hurting and I realize what you feel like you're "up against." In reality, you're not up against anything. We're one nation, under God. We have an extremely divided nation right now, and we need to all have faith in the fact that Donald Trump will bring us back together. He's a believer in civil rights, and he wants to toughen up our military. He wants to force other countries to respect us in a way that we haven't been respected in over eight years. My mother struggles to afford Healthcare and one of his goals is to make it affordable for everyone. He isn't working to better any one person. He's working hard to better all of us. He's got four years in the White House to do so, so let's all have faith and give him a chance.

We are the United States of America, and we're about to become the GREATEST country in the world once again.