For my Identity Reconfigured project I wanted to focus on how I define myself in relation to the rest of the world. I consider myself a happy, optimistic person, and I’m normally able to maintain my optimism in the face of bad news. But lately I’ve been struggling. The informational podcasts, that used to make me feel informed and like I could make the world better, now stress me out and upset me. Where I used to feel like we could find solutions I know feel overwhelmed. I don’t know who I am or how to survive in the face of constant, terrible news, and I’m not sure what changed in me to lose my optimism.