Life in Trump’s America

Abstract

The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States has made me feel that I am not welcomed in the country where I was born and raised. In addition, being a young Mexican woman and student at a predominantly white university has also made me feel as if I am excluded. It was very surprising to me that the country I live in, a country of immigrants, voted for a president who stands for everything that I believe most Americans would not want or agree with. During the presidential campaign, Trump offended many with his mean-spirited words. I was one of those Americans who was shocked by his unkind language. He sent out some powerful messages that hurt many individuals who call the United States their home, like myself. The amount of debate and uncertainty about many issues, such as new immigration laws, was in my opinion exceptionally unhealthy as a whole. As the day got closer to finding out who our next president would be, I started worrying about the fact that Trump actually had a chance. For some reason, I honestly believed he would not have an opportunity to be the next commander-in-chief because of his negativity and absurd way of thinking. His rhetoric itself left me with no question that I was not an American who would give him my vote. This was also the first election in which I decided to vote, but I was not expecting the candidates to be who they were. It was truly a difficult moment to go through since I was trying to make sure I could be as knowledgeable as possible about both candidates and what they would bring in the future. My family is from San Luis Potosí, a city in central Mexico. My parents immigrated to the United States about 25 years ago and, since then, have lived