Today is Friday, January 20th, 2017.
In the United States, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated to the office of the President.
For every person in the country, and many not in the country (like myself), there is a different reaction to this event. Some are celebrating for various reasons. Others are now living in fear, wondering what "Trump's America" will bring. Many are angry- just look at the riots in Washington D.C. that have taken place today. Of course, there are many, many reasons that they are angry, but that's an article for another day.
I've been in my room all day today. I wasn't going to watch the inauguration ceremony, but like a train wreck, I found that once I took a glance, I wasn't looking away. I turned on a live stream of the event right as Mike Pence was being sworn in as Vice President. Almost immediately, my stomach started churning and I felt quite nauseous. I knew I wouldn't be able to watch for too much longer, and that I probably shouldn't, but I pressed on.
It was about this time that my internet started cutting out. I couldn't help but laugh to myself, saying "Even my computer and internet don't want this to happen!" Whatever the problem was, it sorted itself out as Trump took the stage (so to speak) to take the Oath of Office. My stomach started turning and I felt nauseous again, but I also started getting a headache. The same types of things occurred when I watched bits and pieces of the presidential debates, so I was left wondering if this was going to be a regular occurrence for whenever I watched the new president appear on the television. I decided that the answer to this question would come in due time, as I became certain that his face would become an all too familiar sight on TV. When the call to rise for the national anthem went out, I couldn't help but laugh to myself again, wondering how many people at home actually got up. After this thought, I frowned to myself and furrowed my brow. As I laid in my bed, my only thought after that was "I've never felt less American than I do right now." This thought didn't come as a result of the fact that I was still laying in bed while the national anthem played, but as a result of the fact that I now have to call Donald Trump the president of my home country. I thought about my friends and family who voted for him. I continue to wonder how they could vote for and continue to support such an openly, blatantly hateful man. I know I'll never get any answers, because I will honestly never ask. Instead, I'll continue to sit here and try and process how things came to be this way. I'll try and figure out what kind of country I'll be returning to in just a few months. Most of all, I'll try to figure out the words that will help me say just how I feel about these events.
