Dear voters, whether you feel you have won or lost, it is important to remember political elections are not like football games. Your team did not win or lose, you voted to elect the next leader of the free world. The choice you made in that ballot box made an impact, and no matter what result you hoped for, your vote was an important step in the democratic process.

Other Americans who may have voted differently are not your rivals; instead, they are your neighbors. Your vote affects them, and theirs affects you. You voted for your future, but you also voted for theirs. There is no Super Bowl or championship, just four years of systematic changes that affect various parts of our everyday lives.

Dear marginalized groups, those facing the challenges of systemic bias and discrimination, I want to speak as someone aware of her limitations in fully understanding your experiences. I see the resilience and determination you bring to the ongoing struggles for respect, justice and opportunity. I recognize how disheartening it must be to witness someone who has openly dismissed or belittled people based on race, origin and sexual orientation gain public support and leadership roles.

As our president-elect has peers speaking at his rallies referring to your home as “an island of garbage” or he accuses your neighbors of eating your pets based on where they were born, remember we do not all share this radical ideology. America is meant to be a safe space for all. The U.S. Constitution says all men are created equal, and hopefully one day we will finally live up to that sentiment.

Dear parents, you have the most important role in the world, raising the next generation. Since birth, society has embedded gender, racial and class-based stereotypes into our minds. You now have a choice to make — will you perpetuate the stereotypes that were engraved in you, or will you break the cycle and raise a generation full of love and fairness?

Encourage your children to nurture their individuality and form their own opinions. Young and new parents, I know you are scared. I know it must be frightening to send your children to school in a world where 69 school shootings have occurred this year alone.  I know it must be frightening to imagine what the world will look like in their future due to this political climate.

If you have a young boy, teach them to love and support their classmates, even if they are different. Teach them that women are people and that all people deserve acceptance, understanding and support. Do not accept the idea that “boys will be boys,” because they will grow into young men. Perpetuating this sentiment may lead them to become part of the 34% of college-aged men who commit sexual assault, as reported by the National Library of Medicine. It is important to teach them to do better, especially in a country where sexual assault is so normalized that even the president can do it with little consequence.

If you have a young girl, do not underestimate her. Teach her to protect herself from abusers who may never be reprimanded. Teach her to recognize her self-worth so she will stand up when she is treated unfairly. Teach her to find community in her girlhood and to support other women. But most importantly, love your children, hard, because their country does not always love them.

Dear men, reach out to your sister, mother, girlfriend or wife. Let them know they matter. Let them know there is still hope that men and women can coexist equally in this country because men like you exist. Stand up for them and use your voice when you feel theirs is silenced. Give the women in your life the respect and support they need as they watch their lives and futures change in real-time. If you feel you are “not like other men” that women often condemn, prove it and change the narrative by being a positive role model to the fellow men surrounding you.

Dear women, despite our persistent determination and proving we are more than capable, we are still told we cannot run our own country. From the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 to the re-election of leaders who have abused women in more ways than one, we are consistently told that we have to work harder than the men in this country to achieve the same results.

For my 15-year-old self in 2016, it felt like maybe girlhood was a curse. And now, as a 23-year-old, I feel that again. To those who feel the same, I say this: It may feel like the thoughts and feelings and concerns you experience are too much for the world around you. But just know, the passion you feel is a sign of future change.

For the majority of young women that have fallen victim to rape culture or sexual assault and harassment, I see you and I feel your pain. To see the embodiment of your abuser win state after state and ultimately become your president is gut-wrenching. The leader elected by your fellow Americans was held liable for sexual abuse in a civil court case and they elected him anyway.

They voted for someone who has been accused of sexual misconduct by 26 women to lead a country where the National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that 81% of women experience sexual abuse or harassment. To know that the people you see walking down the street likely disregarded the pain you experienced and voted for him is baffling. To know quotes like “grab her by the pussy,” were said by the political leader who is supposed to represent you and your struggles is sickening. To see online, so-called, “thought-leaders” like Nicholas Fuentes repeat “Your body, MY choice,” over and over again to his social media followers is traumatizing.

For the women who may experience an unexpected pregnancy or for the 15% to 20% of pregnant women who will likely experience a miscarriage, my heart is broken for you. For those women who experience pregnancy after sexual abuse or those who have to decide between the baby’s life or their own, the fear and anxiety of finding appropriate healthcare in a country where 21 states have some form of abortion ban must be insufferable.

Voters and politicians have actively reduced your right to bodily autonomy year after year. It feels disturbing to know you no longer have the choice to dictate your own health, happiness and future. Your personal intimacy is still being closely watched and heavily debated as if your body is no longer your own. Now, we must come together. With one election comes another, and there is time to unite to make a change.