​I tend to dislike politics can be something that heavily influences and represents our personalities, our impression on others, and our relationships. I hate how much it seems to define people. It's become this social shortcut to judge someone's entire character, which is honestly pretty exhausting and unfair. So, it is a little unusual that I decided to respond to this prompt for my year-in-review reflection. When I thought about what complex issue mattered most to me this year, politics- or rather, what politics have come to represent- was impossible to ignore. Because 2024's presidential election was no longer about party yard signs or campaign slogans. It was about human rights, and this election and year made me realize just how fragile those can be. 

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I am a woman and a feminist. I'm a racial minority, the daughter of an immigrant, and a college student staring down decades of student debt and already facing a lifetime of my own. So yeah, the 2024 presidential election felt personal. I had always looked forward to voting in a presidential election, expecting it to feel empowering and meaningful. Instead, it felt terrifying. It is not an exaggeration to say that lives were at stake. There wasn't any excitement. There was just pressure, urgency, and a sense of chaos. 

This election didn't just spotlight political issues, but it brought up things that deeply affect me and the people I love. Reproductive rights, access to healthcare, racial justice, the entire education system, food safety, gun violence, economic inequality, the list goes on. These aren't just buzzwords, these aren't just things to argue about. They are real experiences. They're whether or not there is food on the table at home, hospital visits, tuition bills, and text messages of "did you get home safe?". 

I have always prided myself on being open-minded and empathetic. Which are values I embrace when learning more about social issues, I try to learn about different perspectives and hear people out- even where I may not initially, or ever, agree. I still believe it's important to listen to both sides. But honestly, this year tested that. It's really hard to listen "open-mindedly" when people are debating your right to exist safely and equally. When politics stop being about policy and start being about basic humanity, things change. I started reading more news from multiple sources, asking questions, and taking in what was going on around me. I followed local initiatives more closely and tried to better understand the legal systems that are slowly unraveling protections we once believed to be guaranteed. It was a lot. But it's necessary to research and learn and understand- because you can't fight for your rights if you don't fully understand what is actually at stake, or how easily they can be taken away.

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My goal moving forward is to stay engaged. I want to keep educating myself, stay current about what is happening, but also act- whether that's in the next election, having hard conversations with those close to me, or supporting protest movements- or even just refusing to stay silent. So yes, I hate that politics have become so personal- this being what I think is a highly significant issue itself in 2024.  Many issues that I personally find significant, whether it is directly related to myself or affecting my family, friends, and neighbors, have strayed away from being strictly political.

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We are now left to face the consequences of this election- consequences that go far beyond party lines. What we're really witnessing is the slow devastation of our human rights and democracy as a whole. At this point, it doesn't really matter which side you align with. It barely matters who you voted for this year (though, I do judge). Because regardless of any of that, we are all collectively watching our rights, our constitution, and the lives of countless Americans- citizens or not- become collateral damage.