I am a 21-year-old woman about to graduate from college and look for a real job.

This was the first election I was old enough to vote in, and it just so happens to be one of the most consequential elections in the history of the US.

I had never been one for politics. I was like most kids my age who listened to what their parents had to say about politicians, health care and the economy, then went out and regurgitated it whenever discussion arose between my friends and I. I didn't care about the issues or who was president or any of that. I was just a kid, and my parents were well educated and good people. I could just listen to their beliefs, and I wouldn't have to bother coming up with my own. Then college changed me, it shaped me. I cleared my mind of my parents’ thoughts and beliefs and began to form my own. I ended up pretty close to where I started, but this time I knew why I believed what I did.

By the time election year rolled around, I still was not sure if I was ready to immerse myself in politics and actually cast a vote, however, as the campaign began to heat up and my news feeds were being taken over by the “Make America Great Again” hashtags, and the “I’m with Her” posts, I knew I was going to have to make a decision. To me the choice seemed pretty obvious, one candidate was a career politician pushing for women’s rights and equality for everyone. The other was a businessman in the top 1%, had his own reality TV show, and was preaching hate towards anyone who wasn't white, male or rich.

So I quickly made my decision, and as the debates, political commercials and news reports came and went, I was more confident that ever in that decision. I was excited for election day, to cast my first-ever vote for the new President of the United States. I couldn't wait to watch the election results and the eventual inauguration of my candidate.

I was smiling and confident until something caught my eye as I was scrolling through Facebook, #MAGA at the end of a post by a girl I had known and liked for years. I felt a little unsettled that an educated women my age really supported this candidate. I put it out of my head and kept scrolling until I saw another post, and another, and another, until I had to logoff. I could not believe that people I thought I had a lot in common with had such different views and political priorities, that they really wanted to see him as the president, that they could look past his clear bias towards women and minorities.

For the first time I was scared, scared for me, scared for my family, and scared for America. He had more supporters than I ever thought possible. In those last couple of months before election day, I really began to realize the weight of all this. What electing one of these candidates would mean for my future and America’s future. On one side I saw hope, progress and equality, and on the other I saw hate, racism and back peddling.

When the election results began to come pouring in, I was at a party with my friends. We dressed up in red, white and blue. We had made up a drinking game, and we were ready to see our candidate’s name announced at the end of the night. As more and more states turned red on the map, the drinking turned from light-hearted and fun, to panicked and stressed. We were no longer taking a sip every time the announcer mentioned our state, or chugged when he claimed it was too close to call, we were now drinking to cushion the inevitable blow. After Pennsylvania turned permanently red, we called it a night. I walked back home and crawled into bed feeling numb. I texted my mom knowing that she would be awake feeling just as lost as I was. We vented our frustrations and our heartbreak and eventually tried to comfort each other so we could sleep, but we both knew that wouldn't happen.

The next morning when I cracked open my eyes after the little sleep I did manage to get, I couldn't bring myself to check my phone. I couldn't bear to see his name all over social media, the people in support of him cheering and the people who hated him bitching. Both would make me break down and cry. I pulled myself together and got ready for class, trying to put on a smile and convince myself that this wasn’t the end of the world, even though it felt like it.

Even my teachers and TA’s could not contain their disappointment. My classes were cut short, lectures seemed dry and depressing, and they were the first ones out of the room once we were dismissed. I had never experienced such a divide. Yes, this has happened before, and America has been upset and nervous about welcoming a new President into office, but this was different, at least for me.

As I’ve gotten older, and especially in this last year, I have realized how unequal America really is. As a women, I will get paid less than a man, even though we hold the same position. When I decide to have a family, I will not receive paid maternity leave or maybe even leave at all. There are men out there who somehow get to make decisions about my reproductive rights. For me, I am still seen as an object, my body is still sexualized by men, I still have to watch my drink at the bar, I still have to worry when I walk alone at night, and I still have to worry about the little girl that I hope to, someday, have growing up in this same world.

What this election means for me is that my best career option is to become a housewife. I am afraid I will not have a say in what happens to my body, that my rights as a woman will slowly start to disappear. The rights that I never had to fight for before, the rights I was born into, thanks to the powerful, determined, brave women who came before me.

For the women who voted to “Make America Great Again,” who put down the women who were “With Her,” who didn't support the Women’s Marches around the country, know that you are not excluded from this. Know that you are a women first no matter what. Your political affiliation and this fact will affect you too.

So, what’s done is done. Time to pick up the pieces and work towards building a brighter tomorrow. I may not have voted for him, but that doesn't mean I want him to fail. If he fails, we all fail. I will support our new president because he can not lead a divided country, I will hope for the best for our own sake, and I will do what I can to make my voice heard. It’s time to unite as a country and work towards a fair and free nation for all.

What this election really means for me is that it is finally time to start fighting for all our rights.