The Sun Will Rise Again Tomorrow

For many Americans, the election of Donald Trump was an upset, a reversal of decades of groundwork for human equality. It was terrifying for families who had been marginalized for so long to witness their bleak future unfold. It was joyous for families who believed Trump would be the solution.

I’m in the former group, yet I hope I can understand why half of America voted for Trump. Maybe you saw something in him that I didn’t. Anti-establishment and “make America great again” are bounced around, and I really do agree with you and hope for a greater America. Truly.

But like many other Americans, I also see Trump as a symbol of discrimination. He uses words as a divisive and scathing weapon against those who were judged by the color of their skin and the gender of their bodies. I don’t want to neglect the marginalized, underprivileged white citizens who saw a leader in Trump, but I also don’t want to neglect those that Trump’s words have disparaged.

I am hopeful that President Trump turns out to be a president that brings positive change. I hope that he manages to create this future that Trump supporters believed he would. I hope that this discriminatory future won’t come to pass, and that instead, Americans can embrace each other and listen to one another–empathetic human beings who work together rather than hate each other.

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I woke up this morning feeling contemplative, because what felt like an illusory idea before had become real. A future with President Trump had not sunk in yet. So all I could do was keep living.

I made breakfast. I went to class. I did my calculus problem sets.  I walked through the halls of my school. I saw people comforting each other. I saw people afraid and hopeful.

And honestly, I’ll probably go to sleep tonight, thinking of the work that needs to be done. I don’t want to sleep afraid. I want to sleep knowing that if there’s ever a time to be kind to one another, it is now. And hoping for it all to be okay is a legitimate reason to sleep well tonight.

I’d like to end this with something that Alexandre Dumas wrote in Le Comte de Monte Cristo–

“All human wisdom is contained in these two words – Wait and Hope.”

The sun will rise again tomorrow morning. And it’ll be okay.