When I woke up Wednesday, I found out that Donald Trump won.

No surprise there. If you’re American, you probably know that already. What surprised me more so was the response from people on my social media. For the most part, people who had supported Hillary/third party were spreading love and openness to anyone who was feeling upset or afraid by the news. However, Trump supporters were reveling in the victory, saying that you must accept Trump as the new president because he won, or still insulting Hillary/democrats in general. Of course, many democrats were also insulting Trump – but they aren’t the ones who won. They are not the ones with the power here. This is a scary time for people who did not vote for Trump.

This is not the time for being arrogant. This is the time for love.

A lot of people feel scared, upset, or alone because of the presidential election. Whether or not you believe these feelings are founded, they still exist. People are feeling real terror. Suicide hotline calls have gone up. (And in response to this, I saw people say that these people should go ahead and kill themselves or get over it. This is completely disgusting to me.)

If you voted for Trump merely because of policy or because you are a Christian, not because you are racist, this is the time to prove it. Show love to all of the people that are hurting and scared. Acknowledge their feelings. Say that you will stand up for them if anyone infringes on their rights. That is what will help promote unity in these trying times, not forcing the losers to “get over it” when their way of living could be completely disrupted. This is real life. This is not losing a basketball game or a bet, where you lose at most a few dollars. This can hurt so many people.

And if anyone out there is feeling alone or scared or like America is against them, I am here. Feel free to message me or contact me. I will respond. I will support you. You are allowed to feel scared and sad. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you have to get over it. This won’t be easy, but we can do it.

Rise up and keep fighting. We will survive; we will thrive. Even if it feels like it, this is not the end of the world.

Remember that we are all humans. We are all Americans.

Much love to all of you in the next four years. I hope for all of our sake I will be proven wrong about Trump.