On the morning of November 6, 2016, I was full of hope. Less than 24 hours later, my friends were sitting in a gutter in the suburbs of Phoenix late at night, begging me to stop talking to strangers before I became the subject of a true crime podcast.
We had skipped class to fly to Arizona and serve as election poll observers. (Side note: If your school doesn’t give students time off on Election Day to vote and participate in nonpartisan election activities, let’s see if we can change that.) That evening, as I watched the results come in, an overwhelming mixture of adrenaline, confusion, and despair flooded my veins until I found myself walking outside into the night, alone.
The above excerpt was originally published in Teen Vogue.
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