By Adelia Sindunata

As far as I can remember, the recent U.S. presidential election has been the most controversial election I’ve ever seen. Not only did the result raise tons of questions from lots of people, but it also changed a lot of things since the first minute it was over. Friendships, the stock market — you name it.

Recently, I encountered an interesting post-election conversation.

I was sitting with my friend and eating my lunch when suddenly I remembered that Thanksgiving was coming soon. As an international student, I totally love Thanksgiving (come on, who doesn’t love glorious turkey, a long weekend, and — ahem — Black Friday discounts?) and I can’t wait for it. I decided to break the silence to tell my friend how excited I was for this year’s Thanksgiving. His answer?

“What’s so good about this year’s Thanksgiving? There’s nothing to be thankful for, especially after the orange man got elected.”

My jaw literally dropped.

I understand that this election went pretty badly and that people have started to lose their faith in this country. Yet, despite all the horrible post-election effects, we still have to be thankful for a few things:

The right to vote

“This election is a joke,” said a lot of people. Americans had a hard time deciding between Orange Guy and Email Queen and complained about these two. Yet, be thankful that you have been given the right to vote — on the other side of the Earth, some people can’t choose the leader they want for their country.

Friends

If you and and your friend supported different candidates, be thankful for that. You have been given the chance to learn to see things from somebody else’s perspective and to respect different values. When you support a candidate, you will most likely have a biased opinion about them; meanwhile, when you listen to other people’s opinions, you can understand why they support their candidate. Hopefully, it will help you to be more objective towards the other candidates.

This beloved country

Ever wonder why the U.S. is called “The Land of Opportunities”? It’s called this because Americans are lucky to have a good education system. Maybe not the best, but good enough to attract lots of foreigners — I am actually one of them — to come study in the States. I should admit that I learned lots of things here that I might not have been able to learn in my home country. Also, you guys are blessed with a lot of job opportunities. C’mon, when there are lots of people coming to America, it means America is actually a great country. Be thankful for your land, peeps! #Murica

So, everyone, forget about the election results for Thanksgiving. Sit at the table, enjoy that glorious turkey or tofurkey, and have some good quality time with your family. Don’t let Mr. Orange kill your Thanksgiving vibe.

Happy Thanksgiving!