This is your 2016 pop culture prayer for success

Hey there! I'm in love with pop culture. Pop culture is my life, as well as my career. In fact, many of you reading this are pop culture fans who are just looking for a push to get started on your projects. That's why I've undertaken the mission of writing a daily email that brings you the latest news, inspiration and tips on how to succeed in pop culture and entertainment media.

“i hope beyoncé’s lemonade is as long as a game of thrones episode.

Beyoncé’s Lemonade is her latest project, a visual album that premiered Saturday night on HBO and immediately became an instant classic. It is an epic, emotional statement about the complexities of love and heartbreak. It is also a powerful meditation on the strength of black womanhood. The album is a work of art that deserves our respect and admiration.

But it’s also a religious text — one whose meaning will be debated and analyzed for years to come. In fact, we are already seeing this happen: The New Yorker has already published an essay on “How Beyoncé Saved Black Feminism”; Slate wrote about “The Religious Imagery in Beyoncé’s Lemonade”; The Atlantic has been covering Lemonade for several weeks now; and others have been writing about it for months.

Why does this matter? Because art is part of our culture — it influences how we think about ourselves and our world — so it makes sense that we would examine art through the lens of religion (and vice versa).

“i hope the kardashians learn to turn off the cameras.

Dear God, I know I haven't written in a while, and I'm sorry about that. I've been busy with work, but also the Kardashians have been really getting on my nerves lately. It's like they don't even realize how much damage they're doing to themselves, and how much it's actually affecting me as well.

I mean, I didn't ask for this. I didn't want any of this. But here we are. So please, just let them get some help. Or let them live their lives quietly in a nice house somewhere where no one can watch them go through all the drama that they constantly put themselves through over and over again.

And while you're at it, maybe tell Kim to stop posting so many selfies? I know she loves herself and all that stuff, but seriously she needs to stop with all those selfies before everyone forgets what she actually looks like as a person (and not just her butt). And please make sure Khloe stays away from Lamar Odom because he doesn't seem like someone who should be around anyone at this point in his life right now!

And also make sure Kourtney doesn't marry Scott Disick because he's just awful!

“i hope taylor swift’s next relationship lasts longer than it takes me to microwave a burrito.

Dear God, I hope Taylor Swift’s next relationship lasts longer than it takes me to microwave a burrito. I hope that the new season of American Horror Story is as good as everyone says it is. I hope that Donald Trump continues to lose weight and that he will soon be able to fit into his tuxedo.

I hope that all the people who voted for Hillary Clinton are able to get over the fact that she didn’t win, because they can’t do anything about it now. I hope that all of my friends on Facebook will stop posting articles about how unfair life is, because they already know how unfair life is and they don’t need reminding of it every time they log on.

I hope that everyone gets their Christmas shopping done early this year so I don’t have to put up with more posts about how busy people are at this time of year, because I don’t care if you have a deadline or not — if you aren’t finished by December 1st then you should have started earlier!

“i hope jennifer lawrence stops falling down and starts being funny again.

"i hope jennifer lawrence stops falling down and starts being funny again." The Hunger Games star has had a rough year. Not only was she hacked and nude photos of her leaked online, but the actress has also been struggling to find her footing in Hollywood. After starring in two major box office bombs (X-Men: Apocalypse and Mother!), Lawrence is having a tough time finding roles that will help restore her reputation as one of the most bankable talents in Hollywood.

It doesn't help that Lawrence is also dealing with a slew of rumors about her personal life — most notably, about whether or not she's dating director Darren Aronofsky (the pair were spotted getting cozy at Coachella). But for all intents and purposes, it seems that Lawrence is ready to take on 2017 head-on.

She's already filming the next installment of The Hunger Games series — the last one hit theaters back in 2015 — so we'll see if JLaw can bounce back from this rough patch by next year's award season.

“i hope we never have to hear about donald trump having sex ever again.

Dear God, I know that you're busy, but I was wondering if you could help me. This is a really big deal for me. I'm not asking for much. Just a little help with my career and maybe some money, because I'm really struggling right now and my landlord is threatening to evict me.

If it's not too much trouble, could you please make Donald Trump stop being president? He's ruining everything and making everybody mad, which is bad for business. Also, he makes people nervous about traveling to other countries because he keeps saying mean things about them. That's bad for the economy too!

Plus, he's just so gross and creepy and gross and weird that it's hard to think about anything else when he comes on TV or Twitter or whatever social media platform he uses today. Also: Could you please make all the celebrities who are freaking out about him stop being so self-absorbed? They're only famous because they're famous — which means they're not actually doing anything important in the world besides taking up space that should be reserved for people who actually do something useful with their lives (like feed their families).

“i hope we can somehow get through the next four years without the bachelor becoming a metaphor for politics.

In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, there has been a lot of talk about the role of pop culture in politics. Is pop culture a force for good? Or is it just a distraction from real issues? Can it change our minds? Or is it just entertainment, something we like and share but don't take seriously? I've always been fascinated by the way popular media and politics intersect.

In fact, I wrote my dissertation on the topic: "The Politics of Popular Culture Media." (You can read it here.) I think one of my favorite examples is when Ronald Reagan was running for president in 1980 and he made an appearance on "Saturday Night Live." He was already well-known as an actor, so he had experience playing political roles.

But this was different — this was him playing himself. And his performance was so good that people began to wonder if he could really become president. It worked: Reagan ended up winning both the nomination and general election that year, becoming one of our most successful presidents ever. And since then we've seen countless other examples where pop culture has influenced politics — from Elvis Presley to Barack Obama and everything in between.

“at least i have hbo and ben & jerry's to get me through this hell-scape of a year...right?

We are living in a pop culture hellscape. Our president is a racist, sexist xenophobe who is on the record as having told multiple people that they would never work in Hollywood or be able to get a job because they are black. He encourages his followers to harass and threaten minorities.

We live in a country where sexual assault and harassment has been normalized by our president and his supporters. We live in an America where white men are being told that they are being oppressed because of women's rights, gay rights and racial equality. In short: this is not a good time to be alive if you're not a straight white male with money.

The world is absolutely falling apart around us, but at least we have HBO and Ben & Jerry's to get us through this hellscape of a year...

To Sum Up

I understand that there are some people who get riled up about this idea and think that it is blasphemous, but at its core, I don't think that pop culture is so different from religion. They are both a reflection of our society in one way or another, they both seem to answer questions that we can't necessarily answer, and perhaps even more importantly, they can both make us feel good when we need it the most.

And although I will admit that I do tend to treat "celebrities" as if they were modern day gods, I would argue that pretty much everyone does something similar with some aspect of pop culture, whether it's a superhero movie or line from a song. In many ways, pop culture is a reflection of what's inside us (our hopes and dreams), as well as outside of us (society and other influences).

While you may not realize it for yourself, there's certainly no doubt about the transformative power of pop culture in your own life. So if you're ever feeling down or lacking inspiration, don't be afraid to turn to your favorite piece of pop culture for comfort, or even guidance.