I woke up on Election Day with a heavy sense of dread weighing down on me. Although I tried to remain hopeful, my body and spirit knew from the beginning what the unfortunate outcome would be. Seeing the first official “Trump wins” headline early that Wednesday morning was painful. I struggled to accept that this is our reality. Again. This time, however, feels so much worse. Even over two weeks later, it all still feels surreal.

After completing my Wednesday morning obligations, I took the rest of the post-Election day off. I couldn’t bring myself to attend classes. The idea of completing assignments felt like an impossible task. I heard from others that some classes took the time to discuss and process the results, including one of my education courses. I’m glad I didn’t attend, though. I don’t think I could have handled the conversation when it was all so fresh.

However, no matter how much I am hurt by the results, I know there’s nothing I can do to change anything. The world keeps spinning, the birds keep chirping, and all I can really do is get over it. Life goes on. 

And yet, this isn’t something I can simply “get over.” 

How and why am I supposed to pretend everything is okay when it is so clearly not? How am I supposed to go on like normal when all I can think about are the livelihoods of so many that are at stake? Why am I expected to recover so quickly from a life-changing reality that strikes fear in the hearts of so many?

Over the past few weeks, the election results have taken up the majority of my mental bandwidth. I’ve struggled to turn assignments in on time, going to classes and meetings has been extra exhausting, and my sleep schedule is worse than usual. As someone who places a lot of value on my academics, this has been strange for me. 

While there have been other times throughout my college career that I’ve fallen into similar slumps, one key difference between those times and now is the mindset I possess as I navigate the stress and workload. I meet myself with a graciousness I’ve never felt for myself before; an understanding that I’m experiencing valid concerns and fears for myself, my friends and family, and for society as a whole. It’s reasonable that I’m hurting the way I am, and it’s okay if my mental health takes precedence over my academics. 

This compassion for myself has been learned throughout my time as a pre-service teacher here at EMU. As I’ve worked through the education program, I’ve learned how to be a teacher: the best approaches to teaching literacy, how to write a lesson plan, finding solutions to conflict, and much more. 

Beyond these lessons, however, I’ve also learned what it truly means to be a teacher, not just simply how to be one. From the many lessons I’ve learned, the one most influential to my understanding as a future educator is that teachers must consider the whole child. There’s an understanding that all behaviors are a form of communication, and that no child should ever be labeled “bad” for how they show up in the classroom. Like adults, children are impacted by their environments, for the better or for the worst. If a student is struggling to turn in assignments, a teacher should never assume it’s simply because that child is lazy or that they don’t care about school. There is always more to the story. 

Through learning and applying this lesson to my own practicum students, I’ve slowly developed this same understanding for myself as well. Looking back at my first-year self, I don’t think I would’ve been nearly as kind to myself. 

As I’ve dealt with my struggles, I’ve also been grateful for my education professors who have extended a hug, have offered spaces to process and reflect, and who have been understanding of the toll these election results have had on myself and so many others. They embody the compassion they teach to us pre-service teachers.

So yes, life will go on regardless of what’s going on around us. But it’s important to remember that it’s okay to take time for yourself in face of hardship. It’s okay to prioritize yourself if your mental health is suffering. It’s okay to be gracious to yourself when you are hurting and everything around you feels like it’s falling apart. We are human. We must do what we can to take care of ourselves.