The day Trump was elected was a day that completely changed the atmosphere of my college. It was dark. It was raining. It was sad.
I woke up and looked at my phone, seeing the words “Donald Trump Wins The US Presidential Election”. My heart sank and I was angry, frustrated, sad, disappointed, and confused. I just could not believe it.
My college was silenced. Every person I passed was either quiet or expressed their shock on the outcome of this election. My friends who would always be energetic and in high spirits did not utter a word that day due to their overwhelming disappointment and fear.
No one could sit in class without scrolling through the news to understand where the country was going. People were drained from staying up all night in anxiety and it was too much to take in.
It was just...depressing.
I remember being in a big room the night before, watching the presidential election with my friends and others in ease, feeling confident that Trump would not be our president. However, with Trump claiming each state one by one, I was nervous.
I remember laughing on June 2015 with the headline stating “Donald Trump declares his presidential campaign” and told myself that he wouldn’t even be elected as the Republican nominee, far less the president of the United States.
But whenever the news was on, it was about Trump. Whenever I would go on YouTube, it was about Trump. Whenever I was in school, it was about Trump. The whole world was talking about this one guy and it was impossible to not pay attention to him. His eccentric character and extreme views shocked the nation, divided the country, and his victory left many distraught, including me.
To say I don’t like Donald Trump would be an understatement but that’s a rant for a different time. This election simply taught me how important politics are and how easily America’s problems were exposed. The nation prided itself on being accepting of different individuals regardless of their race, background, and/or gender but we came to see that it was not the case.
I had friends go to Trump rallies to extend their political knowledge knowing that they are given the responsibility to vote for this election. However, when they returned, they used the words “volatile”, “aggressive”, and “discriminating” as the only adjectives to describe the atmosphere and supporters.
Now I understand that generalizing a large amount of people leads to more problems and it’s not like we really had a good choice of presidential nominees to begin with. However, it's undeniable that Trump's words have had a negative connotation to say it lightly.
What's important is to understand what Trump's presidency means for this country. It’s important to understand how the American people will come together and where we will go in the next 4 years.
It will be a long time before this election fades away from daily conversation. There are riots in colleges all over the country and students who have been expelled due to extreme statements on social media and direct racism to fellow students.
Some Muslim parents are having conversations on whether or not their daughter should wear a hijab. Middle-school students in Michigan changed “build a wall” during lunchtime with Hispanic students crying in the corner. That’s what's scary - to use such extreme rhetoric without even understanding what it means and what it stands for.
The country is currently in a state of disarray but as President Obama said, “the sun will rise in the morning”.
What we have to do now is have faith in our country and its future. Individuals must educate themselves in the political and social matters of the nation as they all affect us in one way or another. It is understandable to be frustrated and rant as it serves as a form of healing but we should not get carried away and engage in hate-filled exchanges.
If we do that, we will all lose and violence will continue to beget violence.
