The 88th Academy Awards aired on ABC last Sunday and a few lucky stars along with directors, costume designers, and special effects masters (and many more talented people) got to walk away with a golden statue or two (or six @MadMax:FuryRoad) and I can't lie, I was so excited to watch it. I have seen a few of the movies nominated and intend to watch the rest in the coming months (#BrokeCollegeKidProblems), but I still love it. The six hours of pre-red carpet shenanigans that E! hosts, the hilarious tweets about the monologue, the behind-the-scenes Instagrams from the stars, the incredible dresses that women wear (and the ones they change into for the after party), the fact that I know that if you didn't go to the Vanity Fair after party you really didn't do it right. I truly love it all. Yet, I find myself resisting to tell people about Brie Larson's amazing dress or Leo DiCaprio's long-awaited Oscar speech or the fact that the stars helped raised over $60,000 for the Girl Scouts. Why is that?

In today's world, information is power. That's true in everything we do: school, work, play, etc. With the help of smartphones, arguments over a fact are seemingly pointless because we literally have the answer in our hands. How does this relate to pop culture? Well, back in the day, one used to simply watch E! News or read People magazine and get all their Hollywood information that way. But with apps such as Instagram and Twitter, I'm constantly connected to the world around me but also the glamorous, exclusive world of Hollywood. I know that model Gigi Hadid recently dyed her hair black and her BFF/co-worker/reality star Kendall Jenner dyed hers blonde and that they're both currently walking in every show during Paris Fashion Week. So, what does that say about me?

Well, it says I'm connected. Just like other people love knowing every fact about the ongoing presidential campaign, or are passionate about service in their community, or are obsessed with their sorority or could tell you every fact about every Chicago Cubs player. I take pride in knowing the world of pop culture. I'm connected through watching TV, reading articles from various sources, investigating Tweets and always refreshing Instagram. Just because it's not everyone's top priority information, doesn't mean it's not information.

So when I hear someone scoff at an article I might have written with a bunch of Gilmore Girls GIFs in honor of the return on Netflix instead of yet another hard hitting piece on some comment Trump made or the dire effects of global warming, I get defensive. I care very much about those issues, and in fact, have written about a few I feel closely connected to, such as the government's involvement with sexual violence on college campuses (which by the way, Vice President Joe Biden talked about at the Academy Awards). Just because I usually read an article about a new movie before one about who won the latest caucus doesn't mean I am not reading the caucus article.

Pop culture has a huge influence on American society and even dictates some of the most popular trends among us, so I say for the people who love it as well: don't shy away from the fact. Embrace it. It doesn't make you anything less.