Unpleasantly "Woke"

   In today's culure it's hard not to stumble through something that makes you aware. Your ignorant mind comes across a situation that is unethical or you discover an unknown term. You decide to research further, create an opinion, and then add it to the list of things you're already conscious of. Question is, does being informed of your problematic surroundings help or hurt your mental state?
   Speaking on a personal level would best answer the question at hand. As I have grown through the summers so has my world views. Things that were never troublesome to my naive mind, now become triggers. Topics of racism, feminism, immigration, the lgbtq+, gap in the class structure, incarceration rate, and so much more have tickled my mind and made an everlasting impression. I am no longer capable of tolerating sexist comments made towards women. Transphobia or homophobia can not be uttered in my viscinity. The statement "All Lives Matter"...well that never ends well.
  Being "woke" as we now call it, has become a bittersweet label. The beauty of understanding the world and all those oppressed makes it as enjoyable as reading a good book.Yet the capability of inappropriate situations ruining what you once found entertaining is painstakingly cruel. I cannot express the amount of times I have tried to watch an old favorite tv show, book, or movie without finding all the errors that reside inside of it. I once was a girl who adored the Fifty Shades of Grey series, losing sleep from hours of reading the erotic novel. That same girl attempted to once again read the page turning book, only to come up short with patriarchal texts, emotional abuse, and disgust for my younger self's views. I do not regret my "wokeness" from interfering because the writing alone was as bad as the content. Even my favorite tv show Friends has a few triggers here and there. Being able to laugh one minute at Phoebe's comments, then  confused at the male characters constant need to validate their masculinity is tiring. Becoming someone who is socially aware makes you question why the world is so exasperating and why your classmates do not change their questionable ways. Being this well informed might cause someone to ask, is it even possible to live a happy life with this much knowledge?
   The answer to that: it all depends on you. As a person you choose to live a happy life. I definitely do not let it stop me from bumping to hip hop or any of my favorite tv shows. As I jam to Hotline Bling I'm not listening to Drake tell me how mad he is that is girl is independent and decides to have fun. No, I listen to the beat and how nice it sounds. I keep myself enlightened of the content and stick to what I believe in, but I wont let that be an obstacle of realizing a good beat. Be able to step out of the vexatious and listen to that Future or Drake. To be woke is to be conscious. It holds more benefits than defects. But if asked if I wished I still carried a lack of knowledge in things, I'll say "I try not too hibernate because social issues are far more important than my comfort in ignorance."