I thought my experience might be interesting to some people who may or may not remember it differently. I was 9-10 years old during the 2016 election cycle, and distinctly remember it feeling like the biggest thing going on at the time. The whole year in general feels larger than life. I remember the clown sightings and pokemon go and all the celebrities dying. But the election was definitely the thing I remember most.

First of all, I actually didn't know that Donald Trump was a real person until he ran for president. I assumed he was a mascot for the Trump organization or a TV character or something. When I first heard he was running for president back in 2015 it was like hearing Ronald McDonald or Santa Claus was running for president. I knew what Trump meant for America before even knowing that he actually existed. I saw commercials for The Apprentice. I remember the big maroon chair and him saying "you're fired." I remember the big skyscraper with his name on it and the gold and the ice bucket challenge he did a while before. That's all a hazy memory by now since Trump the politician kind of came to dominate how he's imagined.

For me, it was like an iconic hero from our cultural imagination stepped off the screen, down the escalator to dwell among us (for lack of a better phrase) and help the people win back power against impossible odds. I think that dynamic is part of what made him so beloved. It's like he chose to become real and insert himself into our struggles because there was no one else strong enough to fight the battle that needed to be won.

I remember the debates. My parents supported Ted Cruz, but Trump obviously stood out like a sore thumb compared to the interchangeable politicians standing next to him. They all looked gray and washed out, but Trump was bright and colorful.

Hillary was the ultimate gray politician. She kind of gave me the creeps, like she was part of this scary faceless entity that all the other politicians were part of. The feeling that she was backed by this big, faceless entity stands out really strong in my mind when I think back to then. It kind of felt like living under a dictatorship. The news channels and TV in general gave me a similar vibe. Even my mom's job felt like part of it for some reason. It was pretty scary and I remember feeling anxious a lot back then. I never wanted to have to live in the world that adults lived in.

I remember keeping up with the news pretty obsessively. I was just starting to get into YouTube back then and I'd watch his rallies whenever I could catch them. Pretty sure it was RSBN. But it really felt like a battle of good vs evil, like our only chance to break out of this prison that controlled every facet of our lives. It was exciting and I kind of secretly doubted that Trump would win. It seemed too good to actually be allowed to happen.

On election night I watched the results live. I remember praying over and over again, which was weird for me since my family was never very religious. I'd alter between watching the TV with my family and going on my tablet in my room to see what people were saying on Twitter and YouTube. When my home state went for Trump I freaked out since I knew we were an important swing state. When they said he was winning states that Republicans hadn't won in years, it felt like the story I dreamed of was actually being told. I couldn't believe it. When he won I was so happy.

I remember after his inauguration the mood changed a lot. Maybe it was just growing up, but it felt like a bit of a let down. Life kind of stayed the same at least as far as I could tell, and Trump stopped talking about globalism and spent more time talking about stuff that seemed less exciting. The word globalism kind of became ingrained in my mind as the ultimate goal of the faceless entity, but eventually I stopped hearing about it. Politics began to feel more... normal again. Like it was more about who could run the system better rather than someone actually trying to change it. That's just how it felt at least.

I'm kind of curious if I'm just imagining things weirdly or if 2016 really felt as magical for everyone else. It really seems like an outlier when I think back to it, like for a brief moment real life became a cartoon. I haven't had that feeling since.