Like many others, I am writing about the United States 2016 President Elect and how this event has impacted me and those around me.

On Tuesday morning, November 8th, 2016, I woke up for my 10:00am class feeling confident and proud that that day would be the day that the United States of America would have their first woman President.

I had no doubt in my mind that my country would vote for the candidate that is not a racist, sexist, misogynistic, and perverted asshole. Excuse my language, but to be very honest, I can not think of any other “appropriate” word to describe the man who is now our President Elect. I have never, in my 20 years of living in America, been so disappointed and embarrassed to be an American. I have always loved my life here because I am free to pursue whatever crazy dream that I want because  I have the opportunity to do so. This is a privilege that many other women do not have in other countries.

Life has not been easy because of my race, my sex, and my background, but there are many people who have it much worse. I have watched my mother and father struggle to make a living for themselves after they moved from Taiwan to the United States. It’s not easy to leave the place that you’ve grown up in and travel to a land where people do not speak the same language as you.

My mother and father went through those struggles in order to give me and my brother an easier life. I have been blessed with the opportunity of education and freedom to choose any career that I could want. But I will NEVER forget the struggles that my parents have overcome so I can stand as I am today.

Being bullied for being Asian is nothing compared to the rude ways that people will treat my parents just because they have an accent when they speak English. It is frustrating when my mom has to call Customer Service if she needs assistance, and they are incredibly impatient and rude. In case they forgot, their job is to help other in a polite manner.

But enough about my family. I want to talk more about why I was hurt by the results of the elections:

I am not upset with, and neither will I ever judge, the people who voted for Donald Trump IF they agree with his policies and like his platform. This is America, where people have the freedom to think and speak as they please.

However, I am upset with the people who only voted for Trump because they did not want a female president. I am upset with people who voted for Trump because they thought it would be funny and/or as a joke. I am upset with people who voted for Trump because they agree with Trump’s racist and sexist remarks.

I like to be proud of the country I live in because of it’s diversity and it’s acceptance of other, no matter race or sex or any differences we may have. I know this country has come a long way since the beginning of time, but I was proven wrong through this election.

The night of the elections, I stayed up until 3:00am waiting for the results. Around 10pm, I started to fidget and get nervous because more states were turning red than I thought. at 1am, I remember that tears started to fall down my face because the electoral votes were getting more and more distant. At 3am, I finally cried myself to sleep, hoping that everything was only a nightmare, and I just need to wake up.

Many people question why I could not stop crying that night and the day after. The only answer I could come up with was disappointment and fear. It truly felt as if the United States took 20 step backwards, but what’s done is done.

The only thing we can do now is come together as a country and move forward to fight for the place that we call home.