In a few short days, Donald Trump will begin his second term as President of the United States. Today, I’m remembering being a 13 year old girl in November 2016. This girl woke up and immediately searched for election results, only to realize that she would not have the opportunity to see a woman in office. An hour later, she would go to middle school and watch her male peers celebrating a man she actively feared.

Eight years later, that young girl can vote. She has yet to see a woman in the highest office in the nation.

Underneath a gray, gloomy sky, the mood on Knox College’s campus was largely somber on Wednesday, November 6th. And rightly so, after the disappointing end to an election we held out so much hope for.

It’s hard not to feel like the world is ending at this moment. Not because we disagree on economic policies, or climate change, or healthcare, or the power balance between federal and state governments, but because a convicted felon, a rapist, and a proven liar has been reelected to the Oval Office. Because it feels like our rights, our existences, are under attack.

As a woman, it’s terrifying. As a queer person, it’s terrifying. As a friend to trans people, people of color, immigrants and international students: it’s terrifying.

But it’s not the end of the world. We didn’t lose everything that night. And while there is certainly a lot of hate rhetoric flying around at the moment, we are under no immediate threat to our civil rights.

Today is the time to process, to cry and mourn what might have been if we’d elected our first female president. Tomorrow is the time to organize, to find community, and to band together at the local level.

Violence was not the answer on January 6th, 2021, and it’s not the answer today. We still live in a republic, a nation founded for equality, with democratic ideals. That hasn’t changed, even if citizens’ mindsets have. Even if we disagree with the outcome of this election.

Real, meaningful, lasting change begins in your community. The federal government takes ages to pass most legislation, but we can make a difference right now, in this moment. We can volunteer, educate ourselves and others, and most importantly, try to understand.

I’m not saying I’ll ever agree with, or even understand, someone who voted for Donald Trump. I  disagree with him and his supporters on a moral basis, and quite vehemently. I cannot imagine any situation in which I would ever get along with a Trump supporter.

But what I can do is refrain from engaging, if I have nothing kind to say. It makes me no better than anyone if I choose to sling hatred around, further separating our nation into us vs. them.

I could hardly judge someone for advocating for violence if I were to do the same. And maybe that’s a radical thought for some. I know, firsthand, how difficult it is to engage with someone who denies basic scientific facts, or argues that your human rights should not be rights at all.

But it doesn’t make me feel better to hate them. It does feel good to help. To find a community that builds each other up. To fight the spread of misinformation.

Do not let social media convince you that the fight for equal rights is over. There is always hope, and there is still democracy, and it is an exaggeration to say that our country will end because of who was elected into office.

It will be okay, if we can remember that we are all human first. If we can see each other as people, instead of identities, instead of political parties.

It’s still scary to think of the possibilities for the next four years. But giving up is not the answer.