Last week, after what seemed like an eternity, some good news finally hit the internet: Beyoncé is pregnant. With twins. People everywhere were excited for her. I was excited for her. I love her music and style, and like, hello? Not just one but three of her were going to be running around now. For the first time in weeks, the news didn't fill me with rage. Frankly, I was grateful for it.
As expected, though, I saw a bunch of stuff on the internet that was people who were angry about the happiness surrounding her pregnancy announcement. I get it: our current media is inundated with stories about a celebrity doing this or that.
We focus a lot of our time on what the latest gossip out of Hollywood is when we could be covering world hunger, lack of education for girls, or the tragedies occurring in Syria. Definitely, we shouldn't spend nearly as much time on celebrity news.
But I also can't help but to feel that it's okay to be excited for Beyoncé being pregnant. The day she announced it, I was in class and I was previously angry about some news I saw that morning from the Trump administration. Seeing that (stunning) maternity picture of her filled me with joy.
Why is it so problematic that I was pumped about this? We live in a world where terrible news absolutely dominates headlines. Every day, particularly in the last month or so, I have woken up to news about religious groups being banned, people dying in genocide, and women being denied their rights.
It's stressful. I go to bed absolutely frustrated a lot of the time. For some people, it can even have an impact on their mental health. Being flooded with negative news isn't healthy. It's like surrounding yourself with negative people.
Clearly, we need to keep up with what's going on in the world. That's what makes well-rounded and informed citizens. But just like anything, there comes a time where enough is enough. We have to know when to take a break. It's an important part of self-care.
Our world, especially in today's climate, is a callous and tense place. A lot of bad things happen almost every moment, and it's really hard to deal with sometimes. But that doesn't have to be all we focus on. It is possible to care about Beyoncé having twins and the immigration ban. You can care about the latest Jeffree Star makeup line while also being concerned about the Syrian genocide. The world news and celebrity gossip are not mutually exclusive.
It's perfectly okay to be excited about Beyoncé being pregnant (with twins!). And if you don't care about her, you obviously don't need to care about her most recent news. But don't get mad at those who are hyped about it. Let people enjoy things. Life is hard. Don't make it harder.
