A letter from November 9th, 2016

Dear FutureMe, Last night, America truly disgusted me. I'm left speechless and cannot believe exactly what happened. I didn't think the United States was so capable of expressing such blatant racism, sexism, and overall bigotry until last night. (Not my) President Trump. Being blue in a red state is tough. It felt like my vote for Clinton was not counted, that it wouldn't matter. It was just one less vote for Trump in a full-on conservative state. But to see that almost every state in this country voted the same way. Incredible. Sure, Clinton has fucked up. But Trump. Trump is bankrupt, sexist, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, offensive, and a sexual predator. The man is a tyrant. He's a monster. I'm scared to be a woman. I'm scared for my LGBTQ friends, for my black friends, for my Latinx friends. I'm scared for my nation. 15,000. That's the number of people who wrote "Harambe" on their ballot. They wrote in an internet meme at the worst possible time for the worst possible office. Why would one waste their vote on a dead gorilla. Is this foreshadowing? Are some millennials going to joke around more than actually try to better the country and stop a madman from being in the highest ranked office? The house and senate are majority republican, and the supreme court may lean that way too. I'm scared for America. I wish I knew the future. I wish I knew these next 4 years wouldn't be so bad. But I don't, and I won't until I read this in 4 years. On Nov. 3, I hope to God I won't be feeling the same sickness I feel today. I hope that the United States will learn from the mistake of electing Trump. I hope 4 years down the line, I will not be fearful of being an educator. My wish is that one day, I can walk into my classroom and not fear that I won't have funding to have a paycheck to continue doing what I love. I hope that I have a full and diverse classroom of students eager to learn, rather than simply white children who are raised with privilege as minorities are being deported. I hope that this election result doesn't end as bad as it seems. I hope the ending to this 4 year long story doesn't end in disaster. 4 years from Nov 9, I hope that I am teaching. I hope I've voted with my gut and my heart. And I hope to God that, this time, America will understand the pains of so many diverse backgrounds and be able to overcome the hatred to elect a president who will do nothing but good. But for now, we will fight. We will fight harder than ever before to keep the same civil rights, the same civil liberties, and the same basic needs that we've gained. We will fight to keep them until there's no fight left in us, and then we will fight some more. None of my friends are being deported. Health care will still be available. I can still get birth control. Women will be paid what men will be. Muslims will be able to immigrate into the United States. We will be united. God, I can only hope. Happy election day. I hope you did your civic duty and voted. God, I hope you taught those kids to vote when they're older. Please. Do it for me. Do it for the future.