We were warned this would happen. Washington told us that political parties wouldn't be successful. Yet, they were inevitable. We're all different; we all have different beliefs, different dreams, and different views of life, and no matter how hard we try not to be, we'll always be different.

Differences are great. Could you imagine living in a world where everyone was the same? There would be no new ideas, no exciting surprises, and no different ways of thinking. It would be a monotonous, average world.

Our political differences have always been very evident. However, in the past few years, they've been more evident than ever before. Until this election, I viewed the relationship between Republicans and Democrats as one of toleration, but as this election has come to a close, my whole outlook has been changed. People are attacking each other on social media for belonging to a certain party. Republicans are being stereotyped as a group of "homophobic, racist misogynists." Democrats are viewed as "baby killing, ISIS supporting radicals." And you know what? These words hurt. These words hurt both sides, because, quite frankly, they're not true. They're not the sum of the parts. They're lies used as a defense mechanism, when in reality, we're all hurting.

Minority groups are in complete and utter fear of our new president. People who voted for Trump are in fear of the angry few who didn't. Everyone is scared, everyone is hurt, and no one knows what to do.

Forget the election. Forget our new president. We all need to take a step back and realize that no matter what our political beliefs are, we're all American: every single one of us. And while our first instinct is to protect ourselves from getting hurt, all we're doing is hurting others.

This nation is full of hurt right now, and all of my frustration is coming from the fact that instead of trying to fix it, we're all just making it worse. Hating each other because of our differences is not the solution. Hating each other because of who we voted for is not going to change who became president. All we're doing is hurting each other and making this nation a broken and sad place to live in.

"Hate- It has caused a lot of problems in this world but it has not solved one yet." -Maya Angelou

So what now? What do we do? How do you fix the hurt, fear, and frustration? We can't undo the election. We can't change who sits in the Oval Office, but we can change how well we love each other. Just because we disagree with each other doesn't mean we have the right to hate each other. I don't really know what there is to do to fix this immediately, but we all just need to stop attacking each other. You can't hate someone because of who they voted for, and you can't hate someone because of who they didn't vote for. We're all different, and this hate is dividing our nation.

My prayer for this nation is that we learn to love despite our differences. I pray that there is an overwhelming amount of love that is shown to people of every political background, race, and religion. I pray that Republicans and Democrats alike can put their differences aside and focus on piecing this nation back together. We can't change the outcome of the election, but we can change how we treat each other, and that, in my opinion, is still so, so important.