In the days leading up to Election Day, I was definitely blindsided and initially thought that I would end up voting for Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump was never really a person that I considered voting for, and I resisted the idea of voting for him for a long time no matter what came out about him in the media. For the majority of the presidential campaign, I had a thought that the media doesn’t lie; but at the same time, the media was having a parade for the election that was like a circus.
For the majority of 2016, I was blindsided by the media that Trump was not an ideal choice and that Clinton was the better choice. Regardless of how I attempted to become involved as a first time voter, through watching videos, two presidential debates, and participating in #CripTheVote chats, I still could not decide who I can see as our president for the next four years. I even felt embarrassed around my family because while I was feeling the ‘Bern’ (Bernie Sanders reference), nobody bothered to explain why they were choosing Trump in the end. On a repetitive basis, I kept hearing about how Hillary Clinton was infuriating because she has lied constantly. That got old extremely fast; regardless of how often I was told of her actions, I thought that I would vote for her.
In the final days prior to the election, I remained so unsure and was trying to find my feelings before going up to the ballot. Up until the morning of Election Day, I considered the idea of skipping out on voting because of the feeling I had no choice left. This election was surely one where we had to decide on a “lesser than two evils.” Never had I ever thought that my first time voting for a president would be filled with conflict and confusion. For me, this election was more anxiety provoking and there were a lot of arguments because I did not understand it.
On the morning of Election Day, it did start off with an argument. I recently learned that Hillary was bribing her way to get the win for the electoral votes through the aid of having celebrities. At the time, I was changing my mind and thinking that I would end up voting for someone who is a third party candidate. I finally asked the question of "what are the top three things that make my mom like Trump"? Through the use of a small piece of scrap paper, I was spoon fed the answers that finally came to make a lot of sense for me.
The whole time, I supported the idea of how there needs to be positive changes within minorities as I am part of a minority myself. The information I was spoon fed told me a gist of the issues with healthcare, child care, and the economy. I then understood that Trump is the kind of person who wants to be working his way to make our country the way it should be again. Clinton, on the other hand, wanted everything to go her way and promises the same for minorities and people opposed by Republicans, including refugees. It was that moment when it became clear that I am not a person who desired for things to go my way; I get a small amount from Social Security each month and I work part time to build a future for myself. I am the kind of person who would work my way instead of lying and cheating to get what I wanted.
My final decision resided in voting for Trump. There is a lot of negative reaction from people who are against Trump and for Hillary, but I made a decision that makes more sense to me. It is so easy to get caught in the crowd who is following a candidate for who they feel is better, and it is also easy to become blindsided. I am okay with the decision I made, and I surely made my family happy because I did not get caught in the web of lies by supporting Hillary Clinton.
Voting for Trump does not mean I am against everything that Trump is against. This is a pretty big issue that everyone tends to have when it comes to the election cycle. I am still advocating for human rights and for my minority: people with disabilities. Everyone needs to separate the individual who voted, from the candidate they voted for. This as a large issue; there is already a lot of exaggeration in the aftermath of the election. Right now, I can only hope and pray that Trump will be serious in taking control of America when he takes office in January. Trump has the time between now and his inauguration to think about how he is going to manage being our President for the next four years.
