Stunned. Nauseous. Hopeless. The night of November 8th, I went through all of these emotional states, and more, as I saw the prospect of this man becoming president increasingly likely. I truly believed that our country would not be so ignorant and divided--that it would not elect a man who openly discriminates against minorities, a man who feeds off of hate and ignorance, a man who brags about sexual assault. After so much progress, our “leader” will be a caricature of a cartoon villain, or perhaps he’ll be an all-too real representation of what happens when certain groups of people are alienated and demeaned.

To be concise, I’m heartbroken.

Heartbroken that I believed in the facade of tolerance and acceptance being the new normal. Heartbroken that people I know and love are fearing for their lives and futures as a result of this election.

Heartbroken that our country has voted to build walls and burn bridges.

Heartbroken that the stereotype of a woman losing a job to a man, despite being the wholly, more qualified candidate, is now perpetuated on the largest scale possible.

Heartbroken that America has taken millions of steps back after taking many steps forward.

It's hard for me to wrap my head around why a person would vote for this man. Unless you're a straight, white male with no regard for anyone else, there is no reason to vote for this man.

Our future leader will be anti-LGBT, and his vice president still supports gay-conversion therapy. After a milestone Supreme Court victory, gay couples are now facing the fear of losing the right to marry the person they love.

Our future leader has bragged about grabbing a woman by her genitals. He’s been accused of rape by multiple women. He’s a trite and true, male chauvinist.

Our future leader has spewed hateful, baseless claims against whole races of people. He wants to tear families apart and build a physical wall. His rhetoric toward Muslims is not unlike Hitler’s rhetoric regarding Jews.

Regardless of economic issues that will arise (and there are many), the social ramifications that come with electing this man should automatically prevent him from gaining power.

While there is so much to grieve for (I’d be lying if I said that I'm now questioning my faith in the overall American people), there is even more to fight for. We need to look out for one another, and we need to stand up for what we believe is right, now more than ever. The people still have power.

Use your privilege to use your voice. The ideals of love, peace, and hope are not lost, they’re simply hiding underneath the blanket of darkness that has swept this country. But these dreams will never be lost if there are people that can still stand together. Like a wise woman once said, we are “stronger together.” The main enemy is ignorance. Love trumps hate.

The man that will be the president of the United States this January may represent our nation, but he represents only a portion of its people. He certainly doesn’t represent me. I may be worried, but I’m also determined, because the rest of us will speak for ourselves when we say that we won’t be silenced.