By Jillian French – News Editor

Maybe that’s too harsh. Let’s get it out of the way: I’m not psyched America voted in a convicted felon who’s got more sexual assault allegations than bottles of orange spray tan. I disagree with Trump’s policies, and was heartbroken for women, people of color, and minorities who will be negatively affected by his second term in office. I sent my vote for Harris in the swing state of Wisconsin by mail-in ballot and like many Americans who crossed their fingers and whispered a Hail Mary on November 5th, I woke up to Trump’s victory with a mixture of sadness, anger, and queasiness. I’ll admit, the queasiness could’ve been the hangover induced by several Gait specials used to drown out the live election reports, but the headache stuck around a couple extra days. Take it from someone who’s right there with you – moping isn’t doing you any good. So, here’s my unsolicited advice: do with it what you will. 

First step: get off social media politics. If, like me, doom-scrolling is your passion, find a hobby to replace it. If that hobby is exercising, great; if it’s napping, even better! I can also recommend making banana bread for your neighbours, writing poetry, and binging all three seasons of Love is Blind. Whatever fills those gaps you usually spend scrolling past political guilt-posts and rage-bait to hit your daily quota of Kit Connor edits. Social media politics is emotionally exhausting; not only is it constantly demanding of your full attention, but it’s also riddled with biased information, misleading statistics, and pure rage-bait, no matter how noble the cause. If you need to delete Instagram for a week, do it. If you need to mute some of your friend’s political Instagram stories for a couple days, do that too. Stay informed by checking the news online on a reputable site every couple of days. 

This is going to be a controversial one: don’t write off Trump voters. I’ve been guilty of this more than a couple of times, but believing that every Trump-voter is either an idiot or intolerant (or both) is close-minded. There are intelligent, well-spoken, good thinkers who voted for Trump. If we decide to write off every Republican voter as stupid, we are deluding ourselves into thinking that the beliefs and concerns of the majority of voting Americans are invalid. This mindset is anti-democratic. Worse, it’s unhelpful. If I’ve learned anything from course group work (which, admittedly, isn’t all that much), it’s that sometimes, you’ve just got to figure out how to work with whoever you get paired with. In university, sometimes I forget that my goal is not only to think logically, but to think empathetically. My advice is to practice empathy. And I do mean, literally practice: once in a while, challenge yourself to try to understand people that you don’t like and don’t want to like. Empathy is a skill: hone it to a sharp point and use it liberally. Do I sound like your elementary school teacher yet? Perfect, that’s what I’m going for. Sorry for ever doubting you, Ms. Nelson. 

After you have taken a nap and made some banana bread (and eaten the whole pan), use whatever anger you still have to do something. On November 14th, I attended the BU Sexual Culture Committee’s Take Back the Night, a student-organized march protesting gender-based violence. Being surrounded by fellow students and faculty passionate about ending sexual violence culture was genuinely empowering. So instead of being angry and alone in your room, go be angry with a couple dozen students protesting in the streets. Pick something you’re passionate about and go do something tangible. ‘Doing something’ can be small: it can be donating five bucks to a charity you like; or it can be deciding to start composting and recycling to show some care for the environment.  

If, at the end of the day, that feeling of mopey-ness is still there, that’s alright. When everything starts to feel like it’s crashing down around you, take a minute to feel whatever you need to feel. And then remember: the world is always ending somewhere, but you will still be here tomorrow. So, save some of your energy. When you feel overwhelmed, take a breath, take an Instagram break, and for the love of God: go take a nap.