I woke up November 9th and immediately called my mother.

I had already called her once the night before as my anxieties were rising over the outcome of the election, and those anxieties only continued to grow until they had peaked when Pennsylvania went red. At that point, I burned out. My friends and I dispersed with almost no words said between us, the implications of Donald Trump's presidency already hanging over us like a dark cloud ready to burst open and pour rain all over us. I crawled into bed and fell asleep with my covers spread across me and smothered any flickers of hope. My mom answered the phone and her tone already was sympathetic. She thought she knew why I was calling her, but she wasn't expecting me to ask what I did. While choking back tears, I asked my mom to help me save money in case I have to flee the country. Thankfully, my family is in full support of me and my mom told me they would stop at nothing to make sure I was safe even if that meant giving me money to flee the country.

I had been doing research throughout the night leading up to Pennsylvania on what it would take to apply for Visas to other countries (Since Canada's website went down and I have a friend in Australia who was willing to help me out if it was necessary, I was checking out Australia). After doing some research, the thing that terrified me most about this process is that I could soon be applying for a refugee visa. Eligibility for a refugee visa in Australia consists of the two following criteria: 1) [The applicant] is outside of Australia, and 2) is subject to persecution in their home country. While I am not currently under persecution in my home country as of right now, our President-elect's campaign and rhetoric have emboldened hate groups as well as hate crimes, and the rate of hate crimes has risen tremendously since the announcement of Trump's presidency. If hate crimes continue to become more frequent, many of my own friends and I will become eligible for refugee visas. This terrifies me because honestly as an American, I had this stereotyped idea of a refugee being just someone from Syria fleeing ISIS and the wars of the Middle-East. I had never imagined it could be me.

After the conversation on the phone with my mom, I tried going through the day as normally as I could. I went to get breakfast with the same friends I normally did, but they could see I was moved to my core by this. One of them came up and hugged me while I was waiting for my food to be made, and when she walked away I turned to my other friend and told her I was about to cry because of her kindness. I managed to compose myself for the time being, and then I went back to the table and sat down with all my friends, and we ate in silence. I then received a text message from my brother, which I knew I couldn't read, so my friend took my phone and read it. My phone got passed around the table, and each one of my friends was visibly holding back tears from whatever he had said. After finally deciding to read it, I once again began to cry right in the middle of our dining commons. I didn't bawl, but I teared up. Most of my friends never see me as someone who will cry; I very much succumbed to the "men have to be tough" stereotype and try not to show my fears and worries on my face, but Trump's election has made me feel genuine fear for my own safety.

I cried five more times that day.

The next day, I woke up and checked Snapchat to find an entire story dedicated to the protests that were taking place in major cities across the country. I felt the familiar feeling of tears in my eyes after watching these, but for a much different reason. After seeing these people protesting, I regained a faith in America that I had lost the day before. These protests have made me realize that in order for there to be any real change made in America, we can't just run when we're afraid. I am an avid listener of the musical "Hamilton," and I couldn't help but think how it is now time for a new revolution. America is changing, and I believe that it will be through a revolution that America will rise from whatever ashes are there once again as a beacon for all across the world. Trump's presidency has shaken America's foundation, and even though we are a country founded on diversity and immigrants, we have slowly become more afraid of the very things we were founded on. Watching as people protested sparked a flame in me that had burned out the day before, and for that, I want to say thank you to America.

I realized that while I now have a growing target on my back, that I will carry that target proudly. Thanks to the Americans that are protesting, I realized the only way I can ensure that all my friends, family, and even those I don't know, from all the things I am afraid of is to be prepared to face them. These protests have given me the courage to stay and fight for all the progress that we as Americans have made over the past 50 years. I am not willing to let Donald Trump's presidency become a blemish on America's history, and I will fight my hardest to make sure that all minorities will continue to gain more freedoms in my home country. A country that I can viably say I love.