So I'm sure everyone knows this by now unless you've been living under a rock for the last week, in which case you might want to sit down. Come January 20, Donald J. Trump will become the new President of the United States. As someone who has despised Trump from the beginning, you can imagine that I was pretty upset. I will admit to having my fair share of rants, both online and off. I have been thinking a lot about everything that this election entails, and I have a few things I would like to say.

To my fellow LGBTQ community, people of color, immigrants, sexual assault survivors, or anyone else who may be terrified, I know you are scared. You have every right to be. But we can make it through these next four years the same way we have always faced adversity–loving and supporting one another so much that we are unaffected by the hatred of others. We will not let this change us. We will continue to drive out the darkness with light, and spread that light to everyone around us.

To the people bashing Trump voters, I know you are upset. I am too. But not everyone who voted for Trump is racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. Some of the best people I know voted for him and they are none of those things. Some people only voted for him because they saw him as the lesser of two evils. This is how democracy works. If we continue to further divide ourselves based on who we voted for, no one wins. Everyone has the freedom to have different opinions in this nation, and that is what makes us so diverse.

To Trump supporters, I know you think people are overreacting. Granted some people may be, but there are people out there who are genuinely in fear for their life and for their rights. Try to understand. Some of you freaked out when you thought Hillary was going to take your guns, imagine how people feel that are afraid of losing their right to marry who they want to. All of us have things that are important to us, and they can all be insanely different. If there is a chance that these things can be taken away, we have a reason to be upset or afraid. Try to have some compassion.

To the protestors, I know you are angry. But we have to accept the fact that he is indeed going to be our president whether we like it or not. Protesting is not going to make a difference. And for those of you burning and stomping on the American flag, how dare you? The flag is not a symbol of our president, it is a symbol for all of the brave men and women who have fought and died to protect us. When you disrespect that flag, you are disrespecting them. For those of you burning things and destroying property, grow up. You are not going to change anything by being a criminal. For those of you protesting peacefully, I respect you for expressing yourselves, but again, now more than ever is when we need to band together, not further divide ourselves.

And lastly, to Mr. Trump, I know you aren't going to read this but I'm going to say it anyway. First of all I would like to say congratulations. Second of all, I would like to say that you have shown me that you are not prepared to run this country. In my opinion, you are unprofessional, sexist, racist, homophobic, and ill-tempered. Regardless, you will be my president and I will respect you as such. I will not say that I want you to fail because I don't like you. That is like saying I want my country to fail. You say you love this country and that you want to make it great again. I personally don't think you will, but I hope you do. As you take this last month and a half to prepare, I want you to consider what I, as well as many others, have said in doubt of you. Myself, as well as many other citizens, don't believe you are right for this country. As I bring this to a close, I leave you with three last words: prove us wrong.