I exercised my right to vote today and I hope you did too.

After such an ugly and divisive campaign, I was surprised at how emotional I was after voting. This country is clearly unhappy with the state of our nation, and all of the frustration and sadness came out over the last year. Boy, did it come out.

Maybe it was cathartic for us. Maybe we all just needed some time to express our views and scream as loudly as we could, hoping someone would hear us and care. I pray that today marks a time to move on and to heal. We desperately need that healing.

What we’ve lost sight of, unfortunately, is that behind that anger and yelling, are people with hearts and souls and families that they are trying to care for. We are all real people with real problems seeking desperately for someone to solve them. When no one tries to get to the root of the anger, but instead feeds it, that’s when the hate sets in and it needs to stop.

But, back to why I was so emotional. I don’t take voting lightly. I understand the gravity of it and I understand that many have not always had this right and that countless gave their lives for this honor. So, I value and try to honor that.

This election is like none other. We have a candidate who is truly the anti-politician who fought off many career politicians to stand as the lone republican representative on the ballot today. And we have another candidate who has consistently broken glass ceilings to become the first female candidate ever to run for the presidency. Both overcame much to earn this honor given to them by the American people.

As a nation, we should be celebrating democracy. Truth be told, I didn’t choose either of those routes. After many, many months of researching, digesting as much information as I could and praying, praying, praying, I voted my conscience. I couldn’t bring myself to vote for the “lesser of two evils,” as some suggested. Or, I couldn’t say to myself “I’m completely disgusted by this person, but…,” or “I certainly don’t trust them, but…” I wrote in my own candidate.

I have no problem with anyone’s choice. It is their choice alone and my only hope is that they believe in that person and/or their policy.

The person I voted for, I believe in. They share my values and they are most certainly someone that our country could be proud of as President. Not everyone would agree with everything they would do, of course, but I feel confident that this person would truly have our nation, and its people at the forefront of every decision they would make.

And that chokes me up a little. I live in a country where I don’t have to pick the lesser of two evils. Or, one evil for that matter. I live in a country where I typed in a name. I defied what is expected of me and no one (most likely) will threaten my family, or burn down my home, or even worse. Trust me, I’ve gotten many eye rolls and blank stares from friends and family on my decision, but it’s my decision and I’m allowed to make it on my own.

We live in an amazing country. With flaws. But our country is built on liberties that many don’t get to enjoy. So, instead of hating what’s different about our friends, neighbors or those that live thousands of miles away, let’s celebrate that we’re different. And, let’s celebrate that we have this right, and regardless of who steps in to the role of President in January, we will continue to have that right.