On Wednesday, November 9, 2016, I woke up today to gray skies, rain, and social media posts expressing extreme dismay concerning last night’s results. I hear full grown adults crying in the hallways, and professionals taking time away from their job to go to the bathroom to cry or to walk around and attempt to calm themselves.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016, has been a monumental day for the United States of America. To most of us, it seems as though we are moving backward. The LGBTQ+ community is fearful for their rights they have worked so hard for. The women community feels violated and looked down on, for America just elected a rapist for president. The disabled feel mocked, and the lower class people feel more helpless than before. Essentially, with the election of Donald Trump, we have told America and other countries that American’s care less about rape, women, and mockery of the disabled, and more about the power of wealth.

I am not here to bash Trump, and I am not here to tell the hurting to get over it, and to move on with your lives. You are hurting, you are fearful, and you have a legitimate reason for it. Some of you have family that may be shipped out of the country. Some of you have a boyfriend or girlfriend and are fearful you will not be able to visit him or her in the hospital because you are in the LGBTQ+ community. Some of you are afraid your rights will be taken, and your disabilities will not be taken seriously. You and your ancestors have struggled and sacrificed a lot to get to where you are at right now, and you feel like America just stripped you of everything you have fought for. You are deeply hurt more than any of us can ever imagine. You are being threatened by the new President of the United States, and you feel helpless because of it. I want you to know it is okay to be angry, and it is okay to be hurt.

As an American, I want to apologize. I want to apologize on behalf of the people who are in charge of the electoral votes. Even though Hillary Clinton got the popular vote, it was not enough for America. I want to apologize for how threatened you feel, and I want to apologize for whatever you will be going through as a result of Trump being elected as the 45th President of the United States. I also would like to apologize for people who voted for Hillary Clinton. I want to apologize for how condescending they have been to people who have voted for Trump, and how disrespectful they have been towards other people as a result of this election. Hillary supporters voted for who they thought was the best for the position, just like you did. Just like you have no right to bash them for voting for Hillary, they have no right to bash you for voting for Trump.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said:

"Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

As tensions rise and fear seems crippling, I challenge you to show love you may not be receiving from others. Although we may not all agree with Trump and his policies, he is going to be our president. To wish him failure as a president is to put a hole in a boat we are all in.

No matter what happens with Trump’s presidency, this election is monumental for our country. People are angry and hurt by the results, and they have a right to be. Some people are fearful of being deported, while others are fearful of being discriminated towards because of race, ethnicity, gender, or sex. America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. I challenge you, and everyone else in America, to be brave. I challenge you to be brave in the face of fear. I challenge you to show love and to raise your kids to not only tear down the wall Trump plans on building, but to also tear down the walls of hatred, bitterness, and fear in our homes, in our country, and in our hearts. No matter who is the president, we are free, and we are brave.