Results.

Donald Trump was announced as the 45th President of the United States yesterday. People were calling it a surprise, but it wasn't really for me. Not because I have an in-depth knowledge of American politics or anything like that; it was more of a hunch. And anyway, after Leicester City winning the Premier League, Portugal winning the Euros, and Brexit all happened earlier this year, nothing should really be a surprise anymore.

(Incidentally, I read somewhere that if you'd put a £5 bet on Leicester City, Brexit and Trump, you would have won £15 million. It's been a crazy year.)

I had the luxury of being able to follow the results live yesterday (my Master's proposal is still yet to be approved due to administrative issues), and I have to say I got stressed when the final results were announced. I decided to get off Facebook for the rest of the day (though I did accidentally go on once later out of habit) to avoid the inevitable barrage of negativity, and de-stressed myself with a bit of PES, football with some local kids, and then dinner with my new housemates.

I think I would still have been stressed had Hillary Clinton won instead of Trump. Both candidates are flawed (to put it lightly) in their own ways, and the outlook would have been bleak whatever the outcome of the election. If I'd had to vote, I don't think I would have been able to bring myself to vote for either of them. As it is, I'm glad I'm not a US citizen.

For the past 18 months, I've been keeping an eye on the US election through talk show segments on YouTube, mainly for entertainment purposes. There was, of course, the whole getting-updated-on-current-events thing, but I frankly wouldn't have paid so much attention to the election if it following it hadn't also been so entertaining. Laughter is good for my mental health, and as someone who likes to keep mentally healthy, I try to get it whenever I can.

I do, of course, get the importance of keeping up with the world, regardless of whether it's presented in an entertaining format or not. I do read the news, and I do get concerned with the stuff that's going on. There's always something happening, good or bad. There's always something to talk about, always something to discuss.

The problem with talking about current events, though, is that there's always so much negativity involved. There's so much hate, anger, sadness. So many problems are out there in the world, and so many people getting upset over them. All this emotion is understandable, of course, and sometimes even necessary. You can feel what you want over what you want, but please don't drag me into it. There's already too much negativity as it is, and I don't want to be a part of it.

One of the things I want most in this life is simply to be happy. I realize I can't be happy all the time, but it's something I always aspire to be and strive towards becoming. Happiness should be more than just an emotion, which is temporary and fleeting - it should be an underlying state that you always revert to. Whatever it is you're going through, you can rest easy knowing that soon it'll be over and you'll be happy again.

It may be intelligent to to be able to think about big, important things and talk about them, but it's wise to know what's big and important to you and just focus on that. Trying to know everything about everything is great and all, but it's also exhausting. No matter how wonderful you think your mind is, you shouldn't overwork it.

I've never been one to publicly offer my thoughts on trending topics, because most of the time I can't be bothered to look up too much about something that will soon come to pass anyway. It's funny how everyone on social media at the moment is suddenly an expert on US politics as well as its effects on the global economy. Just like how not too long ago everyone was suddenly an expert on Islamic law and jurisdiction.

It's great to have opinions, as it shows that you have a functioning brain, but quite frankly no one cares. Your voice is just one of millions (billions?), and what you think doesn't really matter unless you're somebody important. That's just how it is.

Sometimes it's just better to keep what you think to yourself, especially if the environment is as toxic at is right now. Whatever has happened, has happened, and there's nothing more we can do about it. Focus on the present, keep your sanity, and look ahead to the future. There's still more to come, and you'll never move forward if you're still stuck in reverse.