My Empathy's Broken

I used to be really good at putting myself into other people's minds. I could see a person and what they were doing, and guess pretty efficiently what they were thinking. A couple of thing have put that ability to the test and ultimately, caused it to stop working.

1). Racism. I have no idea how you could be racist. I tried thinking about what it was like to not like someone for their race alone, and each time realized either people are jealous or hate people of different races for the precise reason why I like them.

2). "Cool." Someone please tell me what it's like to be cool. I'd really like to know. Does it feel any different from not being cool?

3). Literary Analysis. Why do I suck so hard at analyzing books? Are the people in my Literature Humanities actually that much more intelligent than I am, or are they far better at making things up.

I guess it's all part of this earnest vs. put-on thing that really bugs me. I always wonder whether people are conscious of their actions. For example, I create an art piece because I want to be an artist. Is this the same as an artist producing a piece? I wear sunglasses because I want to be cool. Is this the same as a cool kid wearing sunglasses?***

I should really stop being so cynical.

Maybe I should just go into psychology.

Who am I?

***See post "My Hobbies" From January 12th, Item 8