I was not going to write this. A few months ago, I wrote an article for Odyssey called, "Why I Don't Like to Write About Politics (At Least Not Right Now)." As the election has come and gone, I still don't like to write about politics, but in this case, I feel like I need to.
Our nation has experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in the past week. My social media feeds have been overcrowded with videos, articles and pictures of Trump and Clinton. There's been news full of hate, love, depression and support. It's been hard to log onto Facebook and not just want to lose your mind because of all that has been posted on it.
In my 18, almost 19 years, I have never seen the people around me so emotional and all over the place. Some rejoice and some threaten to move other countries (I mean, I thought about it myself, but I'm not serious about it). I am certainly not happy with the result of the election, not one bit. I don't think anyone really thought he would win. It seemed out of the question, too ridiculous to occur.
But, here we are, a nation full of confusion, uncertainty and anxiety. We have no idea what to expect from Trump's presidency, especially now that it seems that he is supposedly changing his views about topics he was avidly against during his campaign. I'm not sure what to believe in anymore, as far as politics.
That's why I avoid writing about it. People all have different views, and it gets touchy and uncomfortable.
But, right now, I just want to express that we all should just take a breath. It happened, and maybe as unfair as it was, or to the people who think it was fair, it happened. What we can do now is just live our lives. If we support each other and look out for one another, things don't have to change. Stick up for what you believe in, not what anyone else tells you.
If there's anything I learned so far from this election is that people aren't going to change their opinions. We're all stubborn in some way. Maybe over time people can be convinced, but we all have our opinions.
All I ask of Mr. Trump is that he doesn't set America back 10 steps. We have made major progress over the years, regarding ways of acceptance and becoming a diverse nation. We all should have the right to live and be who we want. To not worry about walking down the street because of our race, gender or sexual orientation.
My word of advice to everyone at this point is just be nice to one another. Don't see people as who they voted for, don't spread hate. Just hang in there, remind of yourself of all the people in your life who love and care about you. We don't know what could happen these next four years, but there's no need to live in total fear. Know what you stand for, and stand up for it.
