Since the election of Donald Trump

Since the election of Donald Trump, the country has been more divided than ever, but it's fascinating how this division has sparked unity among others to join together and speak out about what really matters to them. I am not normally one to go out and protest about something, but after seeing the response for the Women's March, I really wish that I had participated. I don't regret not participating because I had FOMO or wish that I could've used the opportunity for an Instagram, but rather because I am more scared than ever that our country is regressing in so many ways, especially in regard to women's rights. It's terrifying that a bunch of men in the white house are sitting around big, fancy table deciding the future of MY health. Do they have to worry about becoming pregnant? No. So, why are they making all of the decisions? The incredible response around the country at the Women's March was a direct rejection of the regression that is upon us and I wish that I could have participated in that. Our country has come so far in regard to civil liberties and it's a shame that all of it looks like a big question mark at the moment because no one knows what's coming next. It's bad enough that women have to fight for equal pay and respect in the workforce, and now we have to fight being told what we can and cannot do with our bodies.

~Daniela Spencer

When I think of upheaval

When I think of upheaval I think of social services and the people and agencies that provide much needed services to a growing, needy and underserved population. Those seeking social services have experienced upheaval in their lives in one form or another often not due to faults of their own. Many people choose to ignore this population or blame their bad luck on their own wrong doing, while in reality many of the people who are in need of social services are the subject of unfair social stigmas, regulation and racism. Through my work with nonprofit campaigns I have seen people working nonstop to improve these lives, and many of these people rely on such services to achieve improvement. I have also seen the people providing services and those who work at agencies make sacrifices in their lifestyles for the betterment of society as a whole. In this day and age more people need to be willing to do so to improve the lives of all others, not just themselves.

~Anonymous

When I was growing up I was always told

When I was growing up I was always told that I could be whatever I wanted to be. When you're three or four or five you don't think that there are any exceptions to that kind of idea. I didn't know that my being a girl, or my being Latina, would hold any weight on my ability to be whatever I wanted to be. As I got older, it was easy to tell myself that the world was becoming more progressive with each passing year. I grew up in a diverse town, went to schools that had predominantly African American or Latin demographics. I went to an all girls high school, where we were taught to empower and exhibit leadership. We heard whispers of the difficulty women faced in the working world, but we told ourselves that things were getting better. Once I got to college it didn't take long for me to realize that my ethnicity and my gender weighed heavily on how I was perceived by the world, and how I was going to be treated. I worked hard in college, building my resume while still taking on leadership roles on campus and maintaining a social life. Watching Hillary Clinton, a candidate I'd so passionately supported throughout the 2016 Election, lose, crushed all of the hopes I had that a woman like me really could be whatever they wanted to be. If a qualified woman could lose an election to a severely under qualified man, what was stopping the world from preventing me, a Latina woman, from taking on the roles I deserved. This period of my life has taught me that I can work as hard as I can, but it'll only be through a change in the attitude's of others, and the perception of women and minorities in this country, that women like me can have the world open up for them. I have faith that one day it'll happen, and I'd be honored to say I was one of the millions of women that marched, spoke out, and stood up for their rights and made their voices heard. I hope that one day, Hillary Clinton's words will echo true: "To every little girl who dreams big: Yes, you can be anything you want-even president."

~Anonymous

The story I want to tell

The story I want to tell is more of a statement of fatigue of what we're constantly seeing here. It's extremely disheartening that people in a place of extreme privilege are trying to take away so much from people they know nothing of their experiences - and if they do know, not taking the time to understand. It baffles me that men are trying to take away rights of women's bodies. There are so many stories of women (including my own) who didn't have a choice to make in an interpersonal situation and now there are being moves made to make it legal for us to not have a say in what happens inside of our bodies. This is a time when using your privilege is very important, any privileges you may have, this goes for everyone. So that if one person's privilege protects someone else that has a privilege that protects them, the outcome is beneficial for everyone, we must all work together. With this fatigue, there has been great space for growth and education. In the face of an oppressor we must stand up. It's a shame that so many experiences women endure are so stigmatized, but in this time of "upheaval" it seems that an uprising of activism has taken place so an abundance of people are speaking out against those stigmas which has made me grow and develop as a person and a woman, and I hope to continue to work at this. By learning about the world around me, I have learned a lot about myself.

~ Gianna Boveri

A lot has happened in our nation

A lot has happened in our nation during the last few months. Politics aside, it seems that a casual callousness has pervaded politics, discussion and particularly the rhetoric of Donald Trump. Racism and prejudice have always existed in our nation and unfortunately form a major part of our history and values, but recently it seems that these harmful ideologies are becoming a source of pride for those who believe in them. Early in his campaign, Trump had remarked that many Mexican immigrants were rapists, criminals and drug dealers. Like most people, I was appalled by the comments. As a Puerto Rican, I've experienced this racism before and it hurt to see a man with such prejudice become validated further and further. The comments didn't really hit me until a few weeks later when I started volunteering at an after-school program. Many of the kids in the program were of latin or middle-eastern descent and many of them were immigrants or had parents who were immigrants. One of the kids I worked with was named Roberto. Roberto was Mexican and his family had come to the U.S. likely within the last five years or so. By any standard, Roberto was a normal kid. He fought with his friends, played games, didn't want to do his homework and enjoyed snack time. One day Roberto mentioned that he hated Donald Trump. Hate is a strong word so I asked him to explain. He went on to say that he hated Donald Trump because Donald Trump hates his family and thinks that they're murderers. He then went on to say that he wished his family could go home. Worst of all, he said that he was afraid. Roberto couldn't have been more than eight or nine years old, but he was already fully aware of racism and xenophobia that exists in this nation. An eight-year-old child was afraid because of something that a candidate for president said. I ended my time with the program before the election, so I can't say much to how Roberto feels about it now, but it's disgusting to me that any child should have to worry about whether his family is safe in the nation. As an adult, I've learned to live with the burden of prejudice, but it saddens me to think that a child has to carry such weight.

~ Jordan Almodovar

One of the turning points in this election

One of the turning points in this election, for me, was when I came across an article that talked about a radio host suggesting that undocumented immigrants become property of the state. I was so disgusted and just completely devastated. I cried for hours after reading that article and my mindset from that moment on was forever changed. I became obsessed with people like Ann Coulter. I started reading all her hateful tweets and the comments of approval on them. I would call my brother and I read all the tweets to him, frustrated, and he would tell me to stop. He told me to stop doing this to myself, that she's only one person. But she wasn't. Those comments that the radio host made came only months after Trump's announcement for candidacy and his initial comments on Mexican immigrants. This host already had these extreme feelings about undocumented immigrants, but Trump's announcement emboldened him to publicly reveal his plans that he probably happily fantasized about before but would never dare to say. And Coulter was so fucking happy to endorse Donald Trump and was thriving off of his platform.
So, this election, where more than 50 million people voted for this man who revealed how many people truly hate and wish harm on the people that I love most in this life, is not one I will get over. It's heartbreaking to see and hear my peers and people in my community fear for their life and/or the people that they love because they can't display their love safely, they can't practice their religion safely, and they can't walk the streets safely. I hope that now people will realize how much progress this country really needs to make, but it's even hard to believe that at this point.

~ Selena Casas