The Day After

Well. . .

Last night, America elected a reality television star to the most powerful position in the country, possibly even in the world; a reality star who sexually assaults women, who is literally endorsed by the KKK and dictators.

In a situation that only seems to happen here, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but because of our strange and archaic electoral college, Trump actually becomes the next President. Even more disheartening, the reports came out today that 46.9% of eligible voters DIDN'T vote at all. Almost 50% left their fates in the hands of other people.

I went to bed in a state of shock, in disbelief that all of the hard work we have put into moving this country forward the past eight years was disappearing before our eyes.

I got up this morning, after only having slept about an hour, hoping that it was all a terrible nightmare. It is, except this is a nightmare we will be having for the next four years. If Trump is even able to push through a third of his horrendous promises, millions upon millions of lives will be drastically altered.

This weighed heavily on my mind this morning as I drove to work. I had no idea how I was going to face my students. So we wrote and we talked. I sat there surrounded by a sea of beautiful young faces: black, Asian, Latinx, Middle Eastern, white. They're male, female, queer, straight, LGBT+, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and everything in between. Only 15-16 years old, my students are very aware of what's going on, and they are extremely disappointed in their elders. They don't understand how we could allow a man who has said such horrific things about, well, everyone really, attain so much power. They're also scared: for themselves, their families, and their friends. These kids represent the very people that Trump and his ilk are railing against, and they know exactly what can happen because they've seen it already in their daily lives.

But as we talked, they gave me hope. When the next election rolls around, they'll be there, and they won't be voting for racism or misogyny or Islamaphobia or homophobia or xenophobia. They're angry but determined that their generation will get it right.

I, for one, will be right by their sides, fighting with them, and cheering them on.