Tomorrow, Nov. 5th, American citizens will vote in the 60th quadrennial election to determine who will serve as the next president of the United States: current Vice President Kamala Harris or former President and convicted felon Donald Trump. The implications of the election combined with campuses comprised of primarily first and second-time voters have made students throughout the country feel like they’re staring down the barrel of a political D-Day, and who can blame us? On the eve of a historical election, writing about the criticality of voting or the implications of which candidate you pull the lever for tomorrow will do no good. Instead, I believe it is imperative to address the importance of taking care of oneself before, during and after the election, and how this particular genre of self-care is bound to look different for everyone.
There are a few universal truths about how to take care of yourself before a stressful event: Drink lots of water, get 8 hours of sleep the night before and after, and hold yourself accountable for consuming balanced meals throughout the day. Aside from those basics, obtaining a semblance of peace on election day will require different strategies for different people. The best way I can think of to walk through how to spend election day for you is to walk through how I will be spending mine, why it works for me, and how yours could look different.
I am a tab refresher. Maybe it’s the oldest-child control freak in me, but I need to know what is going on. Because I know this about myself, I know better than to try and set a limit for what time of day I’m allowed to start or how many times throughout the day I’m allowed to check the live election results. Because I know that my carnal urge to be in the know will conquer my desire to approach tomorrow’s election in a self-restrained way, I also know that it will reduce my stress if I go into the day allowing myself to refresh my browser as many times as I feel necessary. Why would I try to set a boundary that I know will (A) only add to my stress, and (B) likely fail anyway? For me, it is best to go in with realistic expectations and accept that I will become a full screen-ager tomorrow.
That being said, not everyone is like me. For many, setting a mental goal of not checking live coverage until after noon, after breakfast, after you’re finished what class or some other metric could be the best way to mitigate election anxiety. Deciding if and how closely you’ll be following results is truly a matter of knowing what will stress you out more: knowing what is going on, or not knowing?
The second aspect of tomorrow that I am being particularly intentional about is where I will be and who I will surround myself with.
I believe that Cornell would be wise to hold classes virtually (or not at all) on the day of or after the election. Students and staff that make up this University are humans, many of whom have serious physical and emotional stakes in this election, and it is unrealistic to expect such a diverse unit of people to go about their days when such an important decision is underway. I truly feel that a significant amount of harbored election anxiety would be pacified if people were able to choose who they wanted to see and where they wanted to be on election day, but alas, Cornell administrators feel differently and I will be in class tomorrow. After class, I will avoid public spaces; not necessarily out of fear or anxiety, but because I want to be able to process in peace amongst my confidants. (With the exception of the spot where my friends and I play trivia on Tuesdays. As long as I feel safe there, why would I disrupt my weekly routine to feel stressed? I wouldn’t. I will be turning off my phone for one hour and playing trivia.) Beyond trivia, I will be in my apartment, with my friends, manifesting what we want the outcome of the election will be.
The antithesis of this is someone who knows that the best way for them to calm down is to be surrounded by people and distractions. If this is you, by all means, play mini golf, see a movie, go out to dinner and maybe even finally schedule that blind date you keep canceling. To each his own, but I will be at home.
This brings me to my final act of election-day self-preservation which transcends all personality types and political parties: Tomorrow is not the day to engage with friends, family or people whom you are knowingly politically misaligned with. Mid-election is not the time to reach out across belief lines to your neo-Nazi aunt or liberal extremist cousin. Incomprehensible as it may seem, humans on both sides of the ballot will be extremely stressed tomorrow; For your own peace and theirs, keep the political conversation between you and those you are trustfully aligned with unless the discourse can be rooted in love and mutual respect.
I will sign off with advice received from those who have been around for many more presidential elections than me: Chaos is not a one-off feature of the 2024 election, but an age-old pillar of United States politics. This is not meant to minimize the fact that the chaos we are witnessing in this cycle is inarguably unique — The first potential female president is pitted against the first potential convicted felon president, and Roe v. Wade is back on the ballot — But instead to instill confidence that we have endured chaos before, especially young people. This election will not be the first time a critical crossroads is reached in our lives, now is simply the time when we decide how we will handle it.
Grace Elmore is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. Comments can be sent to [email protected].
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