Well one thing is for sure, within the past few days America has been through the wringer. I struggled for a long time on whether or not we should write something about all this political chaos, but finally decided that this blog promised to give y’all stories about our lives and struggles, and this is definitely one of them.
Let me start off by saying that I am not here to pick apart
either candidate, I am here to share a different side of the story, the one
that happens after all the votes have been counted, the one that happens
between friends and family. The hate between parties right now is so palpable;
I feel it when I glance at my social media, walk down Fifth Avenue, or even when
I’m shopping at Target. Right now I feel like America is a child of divorce
being forced to choose whether we want to live with mom or dad. What worries me
is that these sour feelings aren’t limited to strangers on the street, they
follow us home; this week I have witnessed this negativity break family and
friends apart. Luckily, my family and I were blessed with a similar mindset,
and to us it was clear which candidate should lead us into the future. All was
fine on the home front, but in New York, a really good friend and I are in a
world divided, and through all of the negativity I have struggled to accurately voice my
feelings on the situation.
Let me start with what I do know about my friend. My
friend is caring, hilarious, loyal, faithful, generous, loving, honorable, passionate,
and has been one of the most important people in my life for the past six
years. We have had disagreements before and I’m sure we will disagree again;
however, this difference in opinion seemed too large to overlook.
So what do we do when we don’t see eye-to-eye with a loved
one? Y’ALL, WE TALK ABOUT IT. I appreciate people speaking out for what they
believe in. I am obsessed with the fact that this amazing country allows us to
speak our minds, but if we are not coming from a place of love and understanding,
then what are we aiming to accomplish? Instead of jumping to conclusions, my
best and I sat down and talked about what we felt strongly about, and most
importantly about how we will not let this affect our friendship. We were able
to hear and respect the other’s opinions, and we came from a place of understanding
and love.
So here is what I have decided to do now that the election
is over: spread love. Remember that when tragedy strikes, we don’t run to the
President asking for hugs and support, we run to our family and friends.
Everyone is struggling and everyone is trying to make it through life, and hateful
words and actions from either side will not ease struggle, it will facilitate
it. On an average day in the country we are not sides, we are not parties, we
are human beings, and we are all just trying to do our best to get by.
