4 years ago I voted for the first time and then proceeded to spend the rest of the day drugged due to my wisdom teeth surgery, and really wasn’t that the best way to spend the day. Flash forward to this week and I spent Tuesday in bed, under a million blankets, watching light hearted tv shows because I could not handle the stress of watching the election live. The next morning I woke up and realized it wasn’t over yet.
This election was about more than politics, it was a source of anxiety and not knowing what the next four years would be like. I was worried about going out and being harassed for racial and political reasons. I was anxious about the future of women’s rights. I was anxious about the rhetoric that would be spread for the next four year.
This election was and still is so important, but I simply could not focus on it. While Twitter joked about impending race wars and what we were going to where, I recognize that that was a coping mechanism because there were threats in certain areas towards the minority community.
Waking up today, and hearing that Joe Biden was projected to win the election I was overwhelmed with relief and the second that relief came over me I cried. I cried like the weight of the world had been lifted off my chest and I could finally breathe.
But this election is not the end. Change is only just begun and we have to keep the momentum that we have strived for. This is just the beginning, but what a beginning it is.