Post Election Blog Post

Not doing a normal blog post today, mostly cause I'm not feeling it. Last night, as I watched my computer screen in horror, it took awhile for it to set in. I cried on my floor last night as I realized I was pretty freaking scared, for myself and for other people. I know a lot of you feel the same.

I don't get political in a lot of spheres because I don't like to engage in political debates. And this isn't going to be a ranting post about how much I hate Trump (though I truly do). We've talked about it. We've debated. Now the decision is final and the difficult thing now becomes fighting through these next four years.

I grew up around immigrants and PoCs. I lived right next to the most diverse zipcode in the nation. In my classes I was surrounded by first and second generation American citizens from India, South Korea, China, the Middle East etc. Those people taught me so much about different belief systems and other cultures and other religions. Now I'm sure some of those people are afraid of being deported. To them and to people in thier position, you are wonderful, and loved and your culture is important. You are an American and you deserve this country.

I grew up around women who survived sexual abuse. My mom was working with women who faced assalt from when they were children to adulthood. When I was a kid I didn't understand what any of that meant, but when I was adult, I realized that in some twisted way I was lucky not to be a survivor myself. And many of those who have experienced sexual abuse, harrassment and assalt are horrified right now that we could elect a man who admitted to sexually harrassing women. To those people, you are strong. You are so infinitely strong. Keep fighting. We need women like you.

When I started college I was surrounded by a prominent LGBTQ community. One of the first people I met on campus was transgendered. I had never known a transgendered person before. He taught me what I never understood about gender vs sexuality. My classmates are still fighting for their rights everyday and they're afraid to see Trump elected with a vice president who supports conversion therapy at his back. For those people, you matter. You are valid. Don't let anyone tell you that you are lesser because of who you love or how you feel. And please keep making your voices heard.

There are people who are afraid right now. There are people who are terrified. And even though it seems that 50% of America just said that some of its precious citizens don't matter, you do. You matter so much. The diversity of our country is so crucial to its identity. Without your voices, this wouldn't be America.

And to writers, because I know that's you guys are. Today, we are numb. But tomorrow, we keep writing. We keep writing diverse stories. Empathetic stories. We do what we can. Books can change minds in a fundemental way. So fight. Write. Make your voice heard. I love you all.