november eighth twenty sixteen

stages of grief:

ONE. denial

TWO.anger

THREE.bargaining

FOUR.depression

FIVE.acceptance

november eighth twenty sixteen is a day i think i will remember forever. it will be one of those events that years from now people will say ‘i remember exactly where i was when i realized donald trump would be our next president’. in case you were wondering i was in a pub at the university of sussex and it was pouring outside (only the second time since i’ve been here).

my original plan when i went to the bar with my roommate at midnight was to leave and go home once hillary had the lead and i felt safe. but that never happened. i never felt safe and as i left the bar at three am i was in DENIAL that this was happening. i still held hope that she would pull through, even calculating states on the bus home. i woke the next morning and didn’t touch my phone for a good hour because i wanted to live in my own little world of DENIAL for what i knew the news would say.

ANGER is a funny thing because it comes in waves and for me it was directed at a lot of different people. first i was angry at the people i knew that thought trump should be our president. i was mad that they could toss aside what he had said because they thought they needed change so deeply. then i was angry at my parents for constantly laughing when i said i didn’t want to come back to the states if he won. i was angry at everyone at the bar that was laughing over what was being reported. i was angry. but mostly i was angry at trump for making our country a joke.

after i composed myself enough to finally receive the news, i started googling how to undo this. i wanted to BARGIN with the united states and with the electoral college. i wanted for someone to find a flaw in the matrix. i began BARGAINING with myself and weighing the options if i stayed in the uk or if i went to canada or if i went back to arizona.

DEPRESSION was the hardest. i never thought i would cry over anything political but i did. actually i cried a lot more than i should have. i mainly cried when i watched obama addressing what had transpired on the night of november eighth twenty sixteen. if you haven’t watched it, do and have tissues, especially when he starts talking about the young generation.

But to the young people who got into politics for the first time and may be disappointed by the results, I just want you to know, you have to stay encouraged. Don’t get cynical, don’t ever think you can’t make a difference. As Secretary Clinton said this morning, fighting for what is right is worth it. Sometimes you lose an argument, sometimes you lose an election.

i don’t think i will ever ACCEPT what happened on november eighth twenty sixteen, and if you aren’t happy with the outcome, neither should you. america was built around the thought that if you don’t like something you should work to change it. i hope that trump proves me wrong. but even if he does i will never have respect for him. i have respect for all the muslims, african americans, LGBTQ+, woman, mexicans, and everyone else that he offended, for getting up on november ninth twenty sixteen and living.

do not be a by stander, do not allow yourself to become static after these results. if we sit in our ANGER or DEPRESSION we are wasting energy on something that will do nothing. remember that chances are as you read this you are comfortable and that allows you to make a difference. don’t walk out on your job or your education because all that will happen is a news story and missed opportunity to learn.

research the issues you care about and go out and do something about it.

to mrs. clinton, thank you for being strong and for serving your country and for giving girls all across the world the hope that one day they can do exactly what they want, no matter what.

to president obama, i will miss you. for many reasons and i hope one day i can personally thank you for everything you’ve done.

and finally, to mr. trump, thank you for making me care. for making me finally pay attention and for making me feel something i didn’t know i could. i hope you enjoy your seat in the oval office and i hope that you do everything you promised in your victory speech.

thank you

it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness