I've been sitting with this for a while feeling absolutely numb with fear, and I don't know that I'm ever going to get more ready to speak about this tragedy.
I spent election night in New York. As we took a break for outlets and wifi in the Port Authority Bus Terminal, we checked the election results as they rolled in.
I saw this opportunity to write a piece on my feelings about this election, and I jumped at the opportunity to create a laundry list of all the reasons why I'm upset, confused, and fearful.
I believed. I believed in a country that was good and hopeful, where women could be treated the same as men, where racial justice could be served, where immigrants like my grandmother could thrive, and where the LGBTQ+ community could be equal.
I have never been more ashamed of this country. To put it lightly, it’s never a good sign when a gleeful Rudy Giuliani gets on MSNBC and, searching for a historical precedent, laughs and says that Trump is the next Andrew Jackson.
As I see so many of my friends declaring this election outcome a resounding victory for racism, sexism, homophobia etc., I hope instead that this election is a wakeup call that millions of Americans do not feel represented by the Washington establishment and feel they have no voice in the corridors of power.
Yesterday, at 3:00 p.m., I left campus to fulfill my civic duty. I returned to my middle school, in what most would consider as an affluent suburb of Philadelphia, one that is predominantly white, to vote for who I expected to be the first female President.