11/09/2016

Today, I woke up as a seventeen-year-old girl living in a small, privileged town in northern New Jersey. Today, I functioned off of three hours of sleep, submitted late work, doodled in my notebook and smudged charcoal on my forehead, yet again, in art class. Today, I met with my coaches who said they were proud of me in the past season, and I felt content for a little while. Today, I started re-watching Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," but I did not get to see the ending. Tonight I will finish it. Today, Donald Trump won the election for the Presidency of the United States of America. Today I looked at my social media feeds, read people’s passions and fears and saw the anger engulfing millions of Americans. Today, I felt scared. Tonight, thousands are protesting the election outside of the Trump Tower with chants of, “Not my president” and “Donald Trump go away; racist, sexist, anti-gay.” Today, people are scared, but some are being consumed by an unimaginable wave of hate, and have been harming other American people. Today, we did not shatter a glass ceiling, but have built up a wall to shield ourselves from a new reality some people of the United States do not accept.

Yesterday, I wore my brand new boots. Last week, I celebrated Halloween by watching "Hocus Pocus." Two weeks ago I was sixteen, and to say the least a lot has changed since then. Eight years ago in the third grade, I watched President Obama’s inauguration, and admiring Malia and Sasha’s dresses, wishing I could wear anything but my mandatory school uniform. I did not comprehend how historical the moment was. In the third grade, I was not aware women were not seen as equals to men, I did not see why the president’s skin tone held any importance, and the term “sexual assault” was foreign to my innocent ears.

Today, women can get free physicals at clinics, free birth control and are able to seek out safe abortions. To some people, the last statement conflicts with their morals on human life, but I solely believe that if you have a uterus, then you can express your opinions on the matter. A year ago in June, the Supreme Court announced that it was illegal to deny the rights of marriage to humans who find love with people of the same gender, and we embarked on a course towards acceptance of sexualities and identifications. Forty-four years ago Title IX was passed prohibiting the discrimination of women from education, athletics, or any other opportunities presented to men. Fifty-two years ago the Civil Rights Act was passed. Rosa Parks and three other women prior to her, sat at the front of the bus in protest of public segregation, and Martin Luther King Jr. forever opened the eyes of the country to the racist treatments of minorities and African Americans across the states. Ninety-six years ago women received the right to vote. The lesser known Alice Paul protested the treatment of females in American society through a hunger strike within the prison she was locked in. Eventually, the officers in the containment unit force-fed the woman who gave her life to the cause of gender equality. Four hundred years ago women were seen, not heard, and subjected to the demeaning treatment of men, while people of different skin color other than white were seen as commodities.

Tomorrow, I do not have school. Tomorrow, the country must stop crying. Tomorrow we must act. Tomorrow, we begin a long journey for four more years of a candidate you may or may not have chosen. Tomorrow, we continue to move forward. It becomes ironic when we say, “Love trumps hate” while attacking conservative supporters for their decision in the voting booth. It becomes important to join together and push to make changes for the America we want to see. Tomorrow it is your promise as a parent to tell your children, “It is important to express yourself, and when you grow up I hope you can exhibit the positive changes you want to see in the world.” Tomorrow, we do not sit and rant on the internet our frustrations, but we continue to support those who could be wronged and put down by the outcome of this election. Tomorrow, we accept the future, and we must rise above those who feed off of hurt and hate.

Tomorrow, I will accept Trump as the 45th president, but that does not mean I accept everything he has said during his lifetime, and it does not mean that I accept his current legislation proposals he wants to incorporate into our government. I must accept him, not because I want to, but because I have to. Tomorrow, I will work to make America move forward in the world and not fall backwards down the stairs we have climbed to get to today. Tomorrow, I am still 17, and while I may seem insignificant to the world, I can use my privilege to help others. In the wise words of Mahatma Gandhi, I will work to "Be the change in the world [I] wish to see." Before it is tomorrow, it is today, and I still have time left tonight to finish my favorite Disney animation.