Election Day has come and gone. Take a moment to let that sink in.

What has seemingly been the longest and most negative election season in America’s history is finally over. Yet when I walked the streets of Boston early Tuesday morning on my way to the Mitt Romney headquarters to volunteer, there was an odd sense of normalcy in the atmosphere. Sure, there were lines outside of each of the voting stations, and the usual picketers were outside with their signs endorsing their respective candidates; for such an exceptionally nasty election season, everything seemed rather peaceful. The usual harsh words and physical confrontation that have come to be known in this election cycle were replaced with timid Americans lining up peacefully to cast their votes. I even stopped and asked someone for directions, and told them exactly where I was going and what my purpose was.

Spoiler alert: I didn’t get punched or spit on.

All said, the city was at peace, and being the first major election that I was actively involved in, I was pleasantly surprised. While all of the media has portrayed today as a judgment day on the two candidates, as I walked down the street, I got the distinct feeling that today was just another Tuesday, nothing special at all. Being a conservative, and a Romney supporter, I can tell you that the road to today was anything but easy. I suppose it all started with the longer-than-usual primary season, with Romney just clinching the nomination after a hard-fought battle amongst a divided Republican base. Once officially nominated, the news didn’t get any better for the former governor, with the media largely focusing on every single misstep on his long campaign and reports coming out that even his own staff were in dissent over the direction of the campaign. Long story short, the road to Nov. 6 has not been easy for any conservative.

That being said, this past month has been much kinder to us. After a widely acclaimed debate performance in Denver, the momentum has been on the Republican Party’s side. I predict that Romney will win the election, but it will be very close. As of about 10:45 pm, there are dead ties in Ohio and Florida, with the race also being too close to call in Virginia, North Carolina and Colorado. The likely outcome of the  election at this point is an Obama victory. Assuming nothing changes drastically and Obama does inch out a win tonight, not much will change. Obama will keep his position as commander-in-chief and the Senate and House of Representatives will both stay with the current majority party at the helm. So there isn’t much to look forward to in terms of change over the next four years. What should be monitored, however, is how Obama will act as a political figure with no re-election to be weary of. Will his policies become more extreme with no fear of being voted out on the horizon? Only time will tell.

Another important piece of Washington to pay attention to is the House, which will remain in Republican control. How will Obama get legislation through with the now even more bitter conservatives on his case? Will anything really be accomplished? Again, only time can tell what will become of politics in America, but this much if for sure; I’m scared for our future, and America missed out on a great opportunity to elect former Gov. Romney.

Rocco Giordano is a Collegian contributor and can be reached at [email protected].