On Nov. 5, I stayed up until 2 a.m. with friends, frantically messaging each other. Some live in my state and others were across the country as we watched the votes fall in. My fellow Californians and I hoped and tried to encourage each other with blind optimism as the red meter for electoral votes climbed higher.
We watched as our hopes were shattered, and the horrifying memories of 2017 through 2021 rushed over me like a fearsome tsunami. All of the grief and anxiety I hoped I would never have to face again bared its teeth and declared battle. Donald Trump won the election. 
The next morning I was unable to differentiate the overwhelming weight of my medical conditions from the reality of the vote. In 2019 I was stronger, a wilful fighter that rallied against misinformation. I stood in front of my school as students in the crowd raised their arms in the Hitler salute and yelled hate. But I held my ground. For myself and others.
I am not as strong as I once was and I will admit I am scared. I am no longer able-bodied — I can barely stand. The same vulnerable helpless feeling I felt as a child, being against a threat much larger than myself, is unbearable. This is not a fight we will win alone.
In her concession speech Vice President Kamala Harris said, “While I conceded to this election, I do not concede to the fight that fueled this campaign. The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and dignity of all people.”
There is good in the world, and so long as we fight, so long as we stand together and make space for each other, we can brave any storm. My people, my community, we are strong. We learned to thrive in the spaces we create, no matter how limited. We choose to live.
To all of those who read this who are part of the LGBT+ community, who are people of color, who have a uterus, who are or have family who are immigrants: If you can do nothing else in the next four years, please live. People are fighting for us, and we have to fight for each other.
“We will also wage (the fight) in quieter ways,” Harris said. “In how we live our lives. By treating others with kindness and respect. By looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor. By always using our strength to lift people up, to fight for the dignity that all people deserve.”
I may not be able to stand before a crowd and educate against the harmful hate-filled lies that have been said by the newly elected president as I once could. But I can be there for my community. I will be a shoulder to cry on. I will be a comfort and a resource to my friends and loved ones.
“Sometimes the fight takes a while, and that doesn’t mean we won’t win,” Harris said. “The important thing is don’t ever give up. Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place.
“You have power.”
I will educate in other ways. I am a writer and illustrator and I will share the stories of my people and my communities so that others may see the other side. So others can hear the truth from the mouth and hands of someone who has lived that experience.
I will make my communities seen. I will continue to fight for that because I believe in a future of choice, for my family and my friends. A future of freedom without fear. I will fight for that and I hope if nothing else, you too can see that the fight is not over.
