DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion article. The viewpoints voiced in this article do not reflect the political views of Her Campus UConn as a whole, but instead reflect the views of the individual author.
If you have ever had an out of body experience, you know that it makes you feel like nothing is real.
Sitting in an empty classroom at 2:35 p.m. on November 8th, I started to feel like everything wasn’t real. At this point in my day, I had already happily voted for Hillary Clinton, gone to class, and participated in a service project for my fraternity. It was just starting to dawn on me that tonight would be the night to determine the course of the next four years of my life as an American citizen.
At 7:00 p.m., I began watching the results roll in. I knew it was early so anything could happen, but a feeling of dread slowly started to take me. I tried to do homework, but couldn’t focus as I saw the number come in and that the candidate I supported was losing. I stayed awake until 12:30 a.m., but at that point I knew it was a lost cause.
I went to sleep knowing that we would need a miracle to prevent this man from becoming the most powerful person in the free world.
On the morning of November 9th, for a blissful second, I felt at peace. For a moment, I forgot that last night the unthinkable happened, but then I really woke up.
I woke up, I was upset, but – and this is what everyone needs to remember – we can go on. As poet George Herbert said, “Living well is the best revenge.” Thriving and making the best of this situation is the way we fight back. We prove to everyone that we are stronger. We prove that we will not allow this man to highjack our nation and destroy all we hold dear.
I am severely saddened by and disappointed in the portion of the population that felt this country was no longer being run in a way they were comfortable with, and thus decided an extremist with little understanding of humility or the Constitution should be allowed to have power. I understand your thoughts, your grievances, and your motivations, but I ask you this: Do you understand that your vote has illustrated to all women, people of color, minority groups, members of the LGBTQ community, and anyone with a moderate understanding of human rights that you think you are more important than them?
In the next few days, I will try to process what this moment in history means to me. I wonder, how will we remember this? Is this just a political anomaly? A major shift in how our system works? The beginning of the end of the USA? Let me know if you figure it out.
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