Five years ago, I paid no attention to politics.

Five years ago, if I were asked, I would have said I was a classical liberal. I leaned left but had libertarian ideals.

Five years ago, I had never voted in my life.

Five years ago, my after-work stress relief was browsing reddit.

Five years ago, that website was inundated with socialism, ideas that disgusted me to my core about how America was awful, and posts praising Bernie Sanders for president.

Five years ago, I began following politics and cultural issues like a hawk.

Five years ago, my girlfriend noticed me getting into politics but did not care about what was going on.

Five years ago, I stumbled upon a small, around 100,000 subscriber, subreddit called The_Donald. The posts were funny, and the posters seemed to view what was going on with Bernie the same way I did. I never posted to The_Donald or its eventual replacement site in fear that I would be discovered and outed at some point, but I manned the upvote trenches as we slowly grew and took back the front page.

Four years ago, I started waking up to the world.

Four years ago, I saw where the country was headed. Social Justice. Critical Race Theory. Socialism.

Four years ago, I saw a presidential candidate that while bombastic, seemed to have good intentions for the country.

Four years ago, I was called deplorable for liking what Trump was saying and wanting to Make America Great Again.

Four years ago, I walked into that voting booth and voted for Trump, knowing that it made no difference because of my state's heavy liberal lean.

Three years ago, my fiancé hated politics.

Three years ago, my fiancé was a registered democrat but had never voted in her life.

Three years ago, my fiancé occasionally got angry with me when I would try to talk about politics with her.

Three years ago, my fiancé told me if I ever wanted to talk politics with someone to drive to my parent's house and talk with my father.

Three years ago, my fiancé saw someone she thought she could never vote for sitting in the Oval Office, a businessman, not someone she felt could adequately run the country.

Three years ago, my fiancé after-work stress relief was browsing social media.

Two years ago, my wife's social media began to be flooded with anti-American posts.

One year ago, my wife began to see the president for who he was, someone with flaws but who truly cares for America, someone who would rather be called every name in the book than let the country fall to the leftist socialists.

One year ago, my wife began to subtlety follow politics.

One year ago, my wife would come home from work and bring up one topic every few days that she had heard somewhere and asked for my opinion, something that, if I had brought up, would have lead to an argument not two years earlier.

One year ago, I offered to show my wife some videos on topics she wanted to learn more about in politics.

One year ago, I made it clear to my wife that I was still learning, but we could do it together if she wanted to learn with me.

One year ago, my wife began to see what I had been saying.

One year ago, my wife began to wake up to the world.

This year my wife started following politics like a hawk.

This year my wife started to see where this country was headed, airheads like AOC, "peaceful" riots, critical race theory infecting everything around her.

This year my wife truly sees who the president is, a self-deprecating, hilarious, normal guy. Someone she could be proud to vote for.

Tomorrow, we walk together, hand in hand, to that voting booth. We will vote for the best president of our lifetimes, a man who had everything he could ever ask for, reputation and lifestyle, and was willing to give it up and fight for America. While our votes are still not likely to make any electoral college difference, we will do it for the pride of our country.

The silent majority is real. We are the deplorables. We are not the elephant or the donkey. We are the party of the lion. Tomorrow they'll hear us roar.