Four years ago, in 2016, I was 20 years old and a sophomore at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. At that time, I had already been studying in the U.S. for 4 years.

The day after Tuesday, November 8, 2016, was filled with grief and remorse. That day, I woke up to stories of terrified immigrants who were fleeing the country if they could and others who feared for their lives and the lives of their children. The day after the election was filled with jokes from every person of West Indian, African, European, British or Hispanic descent about getting on the next flight out of there. Still, the day after the election, four years ago, was the saddest day of many people’s lives.

I had two classes that day, one was cancelled and the other turned into a gloomy counselling session for the distressed young, college students of this predominantly black institution, in our little haven, the blue hub surrounded by that huge red state. Tears, streaming down the faces of many students of colour, hugs and comforting looks being given by allies and the professor, trying to find some consoling words.

The day after the election was dreary and dismal and filled with broken hearts and divisiveness. The day after the election was tainted with violence because prejudiced white America was finally getting the stamp of approval from the President himself to validate their hateful, disgusting and downright wrong behaviour. Finally, they could come out of the woodwork, finally, they wouldn’t have to hide or be ashamed of their belligerently ignorant opinions and beliefs.

The night after the election, was just the start of the protesting through the streets of many parts of America. And I was there to see the screaming, chanting, crying, anger and sadness in the streets of downtown Atlanta.

None of us truly understanding how utterly brutal he was and what a blithering mess the next four years would be. The worry, fear and concern were all rightly placed. It grew with every passing incident that was improperly handled and every scandal that was more ridiculous than the last. Those four years were just as bad, if not worse than what we all could’ve imagined. It was as if we were living in an ongoing reality tv series. Of course, there still had to be some jokes in it – lots of jokes actually. We had to find the humour in the horror that the great United States had now become.

For four years, we sat and watched as the people’s civil, human rights were demolished. We watched as the country got closer and closer to tyranny. We experienced the hatred and hurt and the pain and the abhorrent racism. The need for change was undeniably clear. And the worse it got, the more we thought it couldn’t get much worse, and it did. We watched as people became so divided that many of us felt our faith in each other dwindling.

So four years later, the nation decided they had to show up.

And on November 3rd 2020, while the nation showed up, the rest of us sat glued to our phones, laptops, televisions, and radios … listening, watching and waiting to hear that some form of normalcy would be restored.

For days, there was no final result, many of us were waking up in the middle of the night to check how many more votes had been counted. We were invested. If not for our own good, for the good of a country, for the good of its people, our fellow people, on this planet we all share.

We listened to his tomfoolery, conspiracy theories, baseless accusations of fraudulent ballots and election tampering for hopefully the last time on national television. But we also certainly watched democracy work as every single vote was counted.

At first, we waited on Florida and were sorely disappointed. We waited on Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Arizona. Then we waited on Nevada for what felt like a whole month.

And then the strangest thing happened. The most unexpected thing happened. Something so wonderfully bewildering. We watched as that huge red state, turned blue. We watched as this state that hadn’t chosen a democrat in almost thirty years, gave democracy a chance. Georgia, my home for four years of my college life, you made me proud.

There was no official final result yet, but slowly those battleground states started turning blue.

And then it happened…

Just like that, democracy had done its thing.

And we got it back –

After four years of turmoil, we got hope back.

With that said;

To every single Trump supporter – I hope going forward you are guided by knowledge, facts, kindness and care for people who are different than yourself. I hope you recognise that it is ok not to condemn things and issues which you do not experience nor understand. I pray, you will open your hearts and your minds and research concepts you do not comprehend.

To every single person that the word “socialism” frightens – socialism is NOT communism. It does not mean everybody is going to live in poverty. As a matter of fact, some of the richest countries in the world are social democracies. You do not have to like it or even agree with it, but at the very least educate yourself.

To every single person of colour – you are beautiful and I hope you never lose sight of that. I hope you never allow politicians with smoke and mirrors to trick you into agreeing with and believing in policies that were quite literally created to put you at a disadvantage.

To my black people, my beautiful black people – Let this be a reminder – You matter. Your voice matters. Your vote matters.

and

YOUR LIFE MATTERS.

To Stacey Abrams – We thank you, we salute you. Thank you for being so resilient.

To the entire Biden/Harris Team – We Thank You. Every single person that was a part of that campaign in some way, we thank you, for the diligence, effort and patience. We have given the baton to you now, don’t screw it up. We’re not asking for miracles and rainbows overnight, just consistency and hard work.

And to every single person that showed some form of activism – whether that was voting or sharing knowledge – from the celebrities to activists, to concerned citizens, to little ole me, who posted and tweeted and encouraged people to go and vote and make their voice heard. You did that. We did that. We did this. And it warms my heart to see there is hope yet, for humanity. Hope for social change. Hope for an end to racial injustice. May we always remember that there is power in unity.

Everything will not be perfect and rosy

But, if it’s one thing about this Presidential election, it has given me hope.