Being Woke Sucks Sometimes

Being "woke" is tiring y'all.

Having to constantly be the party pooper. Telling your friends their jokes aren't just jokes, and they're definitley not funny. Having to throw out half the deck of Cards Against Humanity because they say something problematic about a marginalized group. Realizing where your own privileges lie and constantly checking them. Having to do the "woke" test on people before you become their friends, date them, or even have a one night stand because you will die before you let a Trump Supporter spend the night with you. Bringing up how race is connected to everything in a class full of people too blind to care. Feeling the micro-aggressions said to you cutting so deeply, but being called "sensitive" about caring so much.

Being "woke" isn't fun y'all.

It's a struggle, it's exhausting, and it's often isolating. Intersectionality and internalized oppression become common language in daily conversation for you and all of a sudden, you are the designated "social justice warrior." People look to you to tell them why their comment was not okay and probe you to tell them all your life experiences as a person with multiple marginality, as if it's as easy as typing a question into google. But that's the thing, boo boo, just google it! It is not on the oppressed to teach you about our oppression. Read a newspaper, use the internet, or simply open your eyes to the injustices around you and stop forcing disenfranchised communities to relieve their trauma through narratives!

Being "woke" isn't a trend, y'all.

It's more than a hashtag. It's more than sharing a Buzz-feed article. It's more than having a friend of color. It's continuously and consciously reflecting on the space you take up and how you move through the world. It's yelling in the streets, feet tired and fists raised. It's calling your representatives. It's doing the work to stay educated on current events and politics. It's shutting up and just listening to the people around you whose existence is criminalized. It's continuing the conversation, even when it's hard because it will always be hard.

Being "woke" is a daily fight, y'all.

But I wouldn't trade it for the world. Through my social justice education and activism, I have learned infinite amounts about myself and the world around me. I have grown to become unapologetic in all of my identities, whether marginalized or privileged. I will always continue doing this difficult work because I know I am simply lucky enough to have a voice to cry out para mi gente y para mi.

And you will never stop hearing my voice yelling at you to check your privilege and do the damn work.