On a serendipitous Saturday morning trip to Blazing Bagels, my younger sister and I accidentally spoke with Congresswoman Kim Schrier about remembering the insurrection and voting importance.

Last Saturday marked three years since the storming of the Capitol, which occurred during a session of Congress intended to discern and certify results of the 2020 election, in which Donald Trump had lost to Joe Biden. The attack came from far-right supporters of Trump attempting to prevent Biden from entering office. Fast forward three years to this chilly morning, protesters outside city hall could be seen with signs communicating the phrases “go vote” and “protect democracy.”

Unsure of what kind of group we were encountering, I approached a random duo of women to inquire about what they were hoping to accomplish. I ended up speaking with Schrier, who identified herself as a “Representative in Congress for the eighth district, [working] half time here in the district and half time in Washinton D.C.” She continued, “We gathered here today on Jan. 6 to make sure we remember what happened that day. It was an incredibly scary threat to our democracy, instigated by President Trump, and I was there that day, so I shared my personal experience. We want to make sure that as people look toward the 2024 presidential election, that we are mindful that if we don’t remember history, we may repeat the stakes, and that could put the country’s democracy in grave peril.”

The past couple of elections have seen unparalleled polarization and subsequent shocking events such as the insurrection. Congresswoman Schrier emphasized how an increase in political participation from my generation and eventually my 10-year-old sister’s has the potential to change that.