Out of nowhere, an ex-reality TV show host became the United States president-elect in a shocking upset that caused mass panic. You may recall it from the mass protests turned to riots, the media going crazy or everyone in the entire literate world talking about it in a long-winded Facebook post. But America, that was Tuesday — we need to move on.

I, along with most of my peers and fellow Americans, watched in awe, repulsion and confusion as the election cycle wore on. It was mostly me checking the news exclaiming “Donald Trump said what??!” every single day for 18 months.

Election Day couldn’t come fast enough, but now we seem to be doomed to four more years of this. Stephen Colbert, on his live Election Day coverage, reminisced about a time when the news cycle was not covering politics 24/7/365 and I’ve daydreamed about a world like that ever since.

I understand the importance of this election and the necessity to be informed about what is going on in our world. It’s not only interesting, it helps us become more active members of society when we know the hotly contested, consequential topics of the day.

This may come as a surprise for those of us who have been stuck in the election bubble of 2016, but there are still other things going on in the world. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently banned 500 and 1000 rupee notes as a bold move to reduce black money use and corruption. Food supplies are running dangerously short in Aleppo and pictures of a young Joe Biden reveal that our vice president had it going on back in the day.

Fun fact: It took me 20 minutes to find out what else was going on in the world, because every major news publication is still obsessed with Trump.  This is exactly the problem.

The surprising election result has put the world into a state of shock and panic, quite understandably. Emotions are running high, with anger, fear and disappointment at the forefront of them all. The stages of grief were on full display on election night. I remember thinking, why study for my midterm the next day when the world is ending anyway? However, the last stage of grief is acceptance. My dear students, it is time to accept.

This is not, under any circumstances, an unlimited set of get-out-of-jail-free cards for Trump. This does not condone his racist, sexist and ignorant words, and those should still never be acceptable. But as our nation has willingly chosen our Oompa-Loompa-elect, and by the nature of democracy, there isn’t much that can be done to deter that. Meanwhile, we could all do with a break from the madness.

So, this Thanksgiving break, when you’re at home, chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool and binging on “New Girl” and turkey — Is that what people do over Thanksgiving? I’m not from this country — you may stumble across an article while trying to tag your friend in another Biden-Obama meme that may tell you that the death of our world as we know it is imminent. Or your conservative uncle might start chanting “Make America Great Again” mid-meal. 

In all those instances, take a deep breath and remember that despite the election not going your way, it’s going to be okay. It’s only been a week and Trump has already dialed back on his classic, unlovable xenophobic ways. He’s said he’s going to keep most of Obamacare the same, and that since the Supreme Court already passed gay marriage, he won’t change that either. One by one, all the bricks that built his conservative platform wall are coming down, and he hasn’t even been president-elect for a week.

Yes, there are many unanswered questions about the next few years: “Who will run the Miss Universe Competition?” for instance. But America is a country where the unpredictable happens every day. The Cubs won the World Series, “Gilmore Girls” is back and I am somehow passing all my classes. Who knows, maybe Trump will be the GOAT (greatest of all time) President. Never underestimate the power of 2016.

Thankfully, the year of the “L” is coming to an end. With that comes a fresh start — hopefully a year of fewer iconic gorillas dying — and a personal plea to everyone I know: Can we please stop talking about Trump?

Shankari is a sophomore in LAS.

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