4 more years

In case y'all hadn't heard, Obama was re-elected and will be our president for four more years. I really hope I'm not the first person to break this news to you. Otherwise, I'd advise you to crawl out from underneath your rock of shame.

To be honest, I voted for Obama and I’m happy Obama won. I don't think Romney was a bad person or that he was incapable of running our country. I'd be lying if I said I agreed with everything Obama stood for, but I agreed more with Obama than i did with Romney. Furthermore, I felt that Obama was better equipped to represent me as a person of color, not because he's black, but because his past experiences have exposed him to the struggles of racial discrimination and diversity issues, and the realities of power and privilege. 

In the end, I would have supported whoever won regardless of whether or not I voted for that candidate. I was just fortunate that Obama won. I know not all of you agree that Obama was the better candidate, but let's agree to disagree and leave it at that. We may have voted differently, but we're citizens of the same country. Following the news of the election results, Leslie posted some words on her Facebook status which I think are words everyone should read.

As my feed fills with status updates about the election results (and I mean FILLS) I just hope people can keep in mind that we are ONE nation. Tomorrow, next week, month, year, and four years from now, we will continue to be one nation. IF you voted, I say THANK YOU (regardless of who you chose to support) because while it is clear who I supported in this election, I believe in civic engagement. I believe in the power, beauty, and duty of engaging in the process. I believe in equality, access, and education. I hope that everyone can take a step back from their own personal views, and realize that tonight was not just a success for one candidate, but a success for the people of our country who engaged in exercising a right that not everyone can claim to have. I hope that people who are not elated about the outcome of this election can be respectful of our president, and those who voted for him. 

I'm hopeful about the next four years, and instead of complaining and blaming others about the results of the election (because trust me, that won't do you or anyone else any good), I hope you'll be able to share my hope and be optimistic about our future.