On the morning after the election, I found my social media accounts packed full of reactions from the previous night's polling results. Many people were happy, but many people were also very sad, scared, and angry. I deemed it necessary to speak my own peace because through emotions, some people were forgetting some of the most important aspects of being an American.

Here was my original post to Facebook on the evening of November 9th:

"By now you have probably read dozens of people's voices over their concerns with this year's election outcome; that they woke up and are saddened or angry that the results were not what they were looking for.

I think it's important to remember that we the people had the power to elect a president because we live in a country of democracy. As Americans, we hold rights that countries today across the world are still fighting for. We should be proud that we have the ability to make choices in our government, whereas in some countries people wake up under the oppression of dictators and are suppressed by a lack of human rights. Not only this, but these rights that we have were fought to be kept by many Americans that gave their lives for you and your freedom.
As Americans, we have come a long way in advocating for the rights of many people, and I understand that some people woke this morning and were afraid that their rights would be taken from them.
It is important to remember that Americans have a voice and we can stand together to fight for the things that we desire in this country.

I ask that you take the election with grace if your candidate did not succeed, and now continue the next four years in loyal opposition rather than violently protesting and disgracing our country. We live in a beautiful place, and it hurts me to see people burning the American flag which has been a symbol of our nation, a symbol of our strength, and a symbol of our pride."

Just last night hundreds of people gathered and blocked a major highway, which gives access to thousands of people daily to different areas of the Twin Cities. By blocking this roadway, emergency vehicles were unable to make it to hospitals which could have affected the care of a patient and even taken their lives. I understand that these people were fighting for a cause that they believe in, but I think that advocates of a group should come together and be proactive in the ways that they protest -- peacefully, and not at the expense of others. Also, it truly pains me to see that Americans are justifying the desecration of our flag. Just this summer we were so proud to see athletes across the country representing us in our nation's colors at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and now individuals are burning those colors to the ground.

I believe that this time now will be a time to go down in history, not only because of the large uproar of opposition against our new leader, but also because our country has began to turn against its own values.