I honestly don’t know how much more I can take, and Trump has only been in office for about two weeks now. All of the news media surrounding (Not My) President Donald Trump is really starting to suffocate me, and I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of news articles that, day in and day out, highlight the horrors of Trump’s presidency thus far, and all of the awful things that are yet to come.

There was a point where I blamed the people of this country, rather than Trump himself. I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed and all I could see was article after article after article about bad things Trump was doing, or planning to do. I got so fed up with all the negativity. I questioned why so many people were sharing articles about all of these horrible things, therefore further highlighting the disastrous state of our country. I even questioned the credibility of a lot of the online newspaper and magazine articles that were being shared because all I saw was negativity, and I could not actually believe all of the things that Trump is allegedly tied to. And I feel as if that was my mentality throughout most of his candidacy for president. I refused to believe how outrageous he truly is, and never thought that he would truly act on the bigotry and discrimination that fired up voters during his candidacy. After being fed up with the articles, I angrily closed the Facebook app on my phone, vowing to not return to it for at least a few hours. I chose to switch to apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, where such blatant negativity was no where to be seen. I would rather like a pretty picture of a friend studying abroad, or watch a funny World Star Hip Hop video than confront the realities of the damage that has been done to this country in a few short weeks. But I knew this mentality could not hold up for long.

At some point, I realized that I couldn’t escape all of the media surrounding Trump. News and social media are so influential to the social and political climate of our country in this day and age, so there is no escaping the impact it has on American society and the way we live our lives each and every day. Every day I come into contact with some sort of news or social media, whether I choose to or otherwise. What does matter is what I choose to do with the information I am given, and how I can use any knowledge acquired to better my life, and the lives of those around me. I also understand that I should, in no way, be shaming Facebook friends for sharing so many articles about Trump’s presidency. For a while, I just saw it as a mode of spreading of negativity, but it is rather ta spreading of awareness and political consciousness that I am proud to see so many people my age have. The power of the written word is immense, and I’m ultimately so grateful to so many of my Facebook friends who are willing to educate and enlighten others on all of the things that are going on, when I often cannot find the strength or courage to do the same.

All in all, I know I’m not going to read every article, and I’ll definitely get fed up at times, but I know that I should not miss out on such important opportunities to empower and educate myself. A lot of articles out there are truly worth the read, but I also know that it is equally important to distance oneself from the toxicity of news and social media when it becomes too much sometimes. It will be a struggle engaging in such media over the next four years, but at the end of the day I know that this is, by no means, “Trump’s America.” This is OUR America and we have the power to do amazing things, and make sure our voices heard, through no matter what the platform, to ensure that this is a land of the people, and not just the land of Donald Trump.