Disheartened, shocked, appalled.

I don’t usually react to world events, but today I’m filled with a profound emptiness. At midnight on Tuesday night, I felt a surreal darkness settling in as Trump was elected president of the United States. My first instinct was to crawl into a hole and never come out.

I feel very vulnerable writing these words. I won’t say anything that hasn’t already been said elsewhere in a more eloquent, coherent, charismatic manner. Yet it was my vulnerability that led me to start a tiny blog, and by pushing through my vulnerability I’ve touched many lives, I’ve come to meet and support and love and be loved by a wonderfully diverse community that spans all genders, ages, races, religions, nations, backgrounds, identities, beliefs.

I often wonder whether I’m doing enough. Or whether I need to do anything at all. Where is the line between selfishness and self-preservation?…