It’s kind of interesting to know how important the next set of votes that are going to be placed in this country are, and to know that I will be affected by them, and to not be able to participate because I am a Legal Resident Alien and not a Citizen.

It is interesting to wonder where one sits when there has been attention on non-citizens receiving benefits, and the possible repatriation of those people, even if they are legal, and have been paying taxes.

Maps aren’t just physical bits of paper; they are concepts too, and their borders manifest in the daily behaviour of those whom the borders are meant to build conceptual barriers within.

There are neighbourhoods referred to by the dominant ethnicity that resides there, and there are specific codes and considerations regarding how one should behave in such an environ, and what behaviour one should expect from others.

Some might say that I am lucky because the nature of my foreignness is not outwardly obvious, and only unpacks in the accent and some of the concepts I have, which might be considered non-American.

Where my foreignness sits in relation to the Americanness of those around me has shifted since Trump got in power. Being a white foreigner is not the same as being Muslim or Mexican, obviously, but being a vocal liberal might be cause for concern, or a source of contention. I get assured it is not.

Plonk me down in the middle of some of these crowds of Trump supporters – the one who lean towards the extremes of that group, might find issue with me. And I don’t necessarily have a problem with that – you have to be honest and disagree when you see stuff you disagree with. I am not going to be afraid of speaking my own truth.