Things to Do Other Than Talk About the Election

Alright, folks. I've got some serious election fatigue. Apparently, we've been collectively feeling it since July. To combat the exhaustion and the emotional drain of squinting through my Facebook feed to avoid the political battlefield playing out between internet friends who have no interest in finding a common ground, I've compiled a list of things you can do or talk about other than the election. Before I share this list, however, I want to make one last plug to vote. The right to vote has not always been available to everyone in this country. Women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Lucy Burns, Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman dedicated their lives to fighting for the right to vote, some of them both for themselves and also alongside the abolitionist movement (though not all of them). Some of them withstood physical and verbal abuse, imprisonment, hunger strikes and brutal force feeding in prison to assert their right to having a say in their nation's leadership. Approximately 50,000 people marched in 1965 to protest the systemic and pervasive discrimination that prevented people of color from participating in their right to vote, a right that was technically guaranteed in the 15th Amendment but was actively denied for many until the Voting Rights Act attempted to address voting-based discrimination. People have struggled, suffered and fought to have the right to vote so if you have it, please use it.

And with that, here's a list of things you can do instead of talk about the election:

• Watch a good TV show or movie. It's almost Halloween so it's appropriate to watch Hocus Pocus on repeat. Also Orphan Black, Transparent and the obvious choices of Parks & Rec, The Office and 30 Rock are always good options. 
• Get a massage. If you can't afford a massage, make like Chris Traeger and form a massage train with people around you. 
• Also like Chris Traeger, dance like no one's watching to your favorite tunes (source): 

• Now that I'm thinking about it, you should probably just spend some time watching Parks & Recreation.
• Come to my house and help me humanely handle the mouse situation that is currently terrorizing my kitchen.
• Make yourself a nice meal. Also, make extras for me because there's a mouse in my kitchen.
• Take some fun Buzzfeed quizzes. I personally prefer those that are Harry Potter related. This one is fun. Also this one. And this one is a given (#hufflepuff4eva).
• You know what, while you're at it, you should probably just reread the whole Harry Potter series. Or, if you've managed to make it this far in your life without it, read it for the first time.
• Stay off of social media.
• If you have to go on social media, actively fight the urge to make snarky comments on other people's political posts. 
• Go for a walk. If you're worried about seeing political signs, make yourself a Sensory Deprivator 5000. It may impact your ability to take in the fall beauty, but will also keep you election-protected.
• Do something nice for someone else. Volunteer for a cause you care about if you have the time and the resources. Tell someone you love that you are thinking about them. Hold the door for a stranger. Generally be a decent human being to others.
• Do something nice for yourself. The options are endless. I don't know your life.
• Eat dessert in bed. I did this last night. It was excellent.
• Exercise. Endorphins are awesome and it feels good after dessert in bed.

Need things other than the election to talk about? Here are some suggestions:

• The New Yorker article about the history of the ladder
• dorm options at Johns Hopkins University
• Sonicare instructions
• Accordian music
• Old-timey car horns (please review the 4th suggestion if this list confuses you)
• Literally anything else

If you're opinionated, if you're passionate, if you are dying to share your political views, that's cool. I am too. Just remember that there are a lot of opinions, a lot of emotions and a lot of perspectives out there. Tensions are high and people are tired. I'm tired too. Let's try to be kind, respectful and decent to each other. We still have to live with each other after November 8.