America, Today I Pray for You

Dear America,

In the last nine years I have lived here, I have been beyond proud to call you my home. The first 16 years of my life, I dreamed of living in the GREATEST nation in the world. What a foolish Albanian girl I must have been! Today, I am hurt and disappointed. I am not disappointed that you chose Trump over Clinton as the leader of the free world. In fact, I congratulate him and respect his supporters. However, this election shows us how much our democracy is suffering.

The events of the past few days, even months, should be a wake-up call. In this election, people did not focus on choosing the best out of two good candidates. They focused on voting for who they thought was “the lesser of two evils.” Out of millions of brilliant, educated, and hardworking people, we narrowed it down to two individuals who became more concerned about how to degrade and tear one another apart than on how to bring prosperity to our country. I am disappointed we are now more divided than we have ever been since the Civil War.

We have become, as some would say, the laughingstock of the world. All this noise, turmoil, and heartbreak over what should be an opportunity to live the American Dream that our Founding Fathers, great leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others envisioned for this land.

America, I am in pain, but I do not resent you. I can see your heart is also bleeding. I am praying for you and I hope we can come out of this situation stronger and wiser. I am praying for all of us. At the end of the day, we are all mortal humans trying to leave our mark on the world during the short time we have here. We are not perfect. We make mistakes.

America, it is time we stop trash-taking and degrading one another to feel better about ourselves. It is time we stop feeding hatred. It is time we start becoming better people. Today, I pray for forgiveness. Today, I pray for love. I pray we choose to not only accept, but cherish our differences. I pray for unity. Today, I pray for all of us. I pray for Hillary as she gracefully accepts the results and moves on to hopefully accomplish amazing things in her lifetime. I applaud her for being a courageous woman and leader. I pray for Barack and his family as they entrust the White House and their progress of eight years to the man chosen to represent our country. I thank them for all they have accomplished. I pray for Donald and send my best wishes his way as he takes on the tough responsibility of leading our nation. I pray for Melania to fill in the shoes of Michelle, one of the finest First Ladies the world has ever known.

I pray for our senators, representatives, Supreme Court justices, and everyone else in the political system as they work together to strengthen our democracy. And most of all, I pray for my family, friends, acquaintances, and all of us whom this election has not only affected us politically and socially, but also on a very deep personal level. I pray that today and every day, we choose love and forgiveness despite the many wounds Donald’s remarks or Hilary’s actions might have caused us.

I hope we choose to be brave. I hope we choose to forgive. I hope we choose to trust the road ahead. I hope one day in my lifetime, race, religion, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation are not even topics of discussion. That way we can focus on what truly matters, being human and loving one another.

America, today I will not debate moving to Canada, Albania, or anywhere else in the world. I love Albania. I love the world, and I love you. I love us. You have been my home. You have shown me the dreams of a little girl can come true if she works hard for what she believes in. I would not be the woman I am had you not opened your arms to me. Today, I stand by your side and I pray for you and the world. Today I pray for all the young hearts who need to believe in the beauty of their dreams. Today, I pray for all of us. I pray for unity. I pray for love. I pray for peace.

Sincerely

Your loving daughter and friend