Unless you live under a rock, you most likely are familiar with the election that happened a few days ago. If you voted, you probably snapped and shared a cliche picture of an "I voted!" sticker across your social media platforms. No shame there, you are exercising your right to vote as an American citizen and definitely should be proud of it (unless you're like me and stupidly messed up their registration, deeming them incapable to vote).

Both Democrats and Republicans had their share of victories this past Tuesday. Republicans, as their usual stubborn selves, clung on to their control of the Senate and even marked flips of Ohio and Florida (two states that were previously blue). This basically makes winning the 2020 presidential election a tad bit easier for President Trump.

Democrats, however, arguably won much more than their right-wing counterparts. Due to a very large and unexpected voter turnout, we were capable of snatching 27 seats — enough to give us control of the House. Large voter turnouts almost always are beneficial for Democrat contenders, primarily because they consist of zealous young voters that are fueled by their resentment of the status quo.

I was a witness to this myself, where many of my friends on Instagram were urging their followers to get out and go vote. As a result, we elected a very diverse group of individuals into Congress, including the first Muslim woman (Rashida Tlaib), the first Native American (Sharice Davids), first Iranian-American (Anna Eskamani), in addition to electing the greatest amount of female legislators to Congress in all of American history.

With Democrats now in the House, we can now address issues that are deemed insignificant to Republicans. Gun control, health care, immigration, and the recent rapid rise of bigotry, to name just a few. President Trump may have brushed off this victory of ours, but it definitely has shaken him and the Republican base. We now have more of a voice against Trump's xenophobic and authoritarian political agenda. Some Democrats have even vowed to begin an official investigation into Trump's erratic behavior, including his suspected involvement with the Russians.

As young individuals, we often feel powerless and marginalized when it comes to government affairs. However, as a collective group, our votes definitely do make a difference, especially because we have the power to overthrow the votes of Baby Boomers and Generation X — groups that tend to vote Republican. Even if for some unforeseen circumstances you cannot vote, there are numerous ways you can still be politically engaged. Know your candidates, tell your friends to go vote, and most importantly, don't stay silent.