Editor’s note: Varsha Sarveshwar served as the Talon’s print editor-in-chief during the 2015-2016 school year. She is now a freshman studying political science and economics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Back when I ran this newspaper, I had a saying that I used to tell my staff — and myself — whenever we ran a story that got us in trouble: “People are really good at being really mad for a really short period of time.”

And it was true! One day, people were posting Snapchat videos of themselves setting Talons on fire out of what was ostensibly righteous indignation, and the next day, it was all forgotten. (Oh, how I miss being editor-in-chief.)

As a Democrat, looking back on the events that followed election night, I worry that it’s the same thing. People were mad. They protested. Some even rioted. But eventually, we read every cringe-inducing news article — from selecting a white nationalist to be the White House chief strategist, to potentially upending the U.S.’s “One China” policy — with a defeated sigh and said, “I guess this is how it’ll be now.”

But, for those of you that felt as frustrated as I felt on election night, I have something to tell you: Don’t let it go. Stay fired up.

Because a lot of the things you might care about will be at stake. The Affordable Care Act will be at stake. Wall Street regulations will be at stake. Climate change and energy policies will be at stake. Our DREAMers will be at stake.

The people who want to roll back the progress we’ve made knew that you’d be mad at first. They’re just counting on you to get so frustrated and so cynical that you eventually cool down and quit. That’s why they’re trying to put the CEO of ExxonMobil in charge of the State Department, the CEO of Carl’s Jr. and Hardy’s in charge of the Labor Department and the guy who ran Goldman Sachs’s mortgage-trading desk (!) in charge of the Treasury Department.

In the end, what won’t matter is whether or not you were angry on Election Night. What will matter is whether or not you’re still fired up one, two, three, or four years from now — whether or not you’re still going to be knocking on doors, whether or not you’re still going to be calling phones — and yes, whether or not you’re still going to vote.

So no matter what political party you’re in, don’t get cynical. Don’t quit, even when you lose. Politics can be incredibly dispiriting, but if you’re not around to call your congressmen and your senators when it counts, and if you’re not around the next election to make your voice heard, then you have to admit that none of this really mattered to you in the first place.

Whatever your political leanings, my advice to you is to stay in the game. I know I will. Because, in politics — as always — what matters is who shows up.