The Odyssey Online

Making the world safer through language.

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7 Ways to Make Your Language More Transgender and Nonbinary Inclusive

With more people becoming aware of transgender and non-binary people, there have been a lot of questions circulating online and elsewhere about how to be more inclusive. Language is very important in making a space safer for trans and non-binary individuals. With language, there is an established and built-in measure of whether a place could be safe or unsafe. If the wrong language is used, the place is unsafe and shows a lack of education on trans and non-binary issues. With the right language and education, there can be more safe spaces for trans and non-binary people to exist without feeling the need to hide their identities or feel threatened for merely existing.

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transgender

Entertainment

What It’s Like To Be A Strong Woman, As Told By Blair Waldorf

Queen B sums it up for us.

Rutgers University

1156

Stop Hollywood

For those of you who have watched "Gossip Girl" before (and maybe more than just once), you know how important of a character Blair Waldorf is. Without Blair, the show doesn’t have any substance, scheme, or drama. Although the beginning of the show started off with Blair’s best friend Serena returning from boarding school, there just simply is no plot without Blair. With that being said, Blair’s presence in the show in much more complex than that. Her independent and go-getter ways have set an example for "Gossip Girl" fans since the show started and has not ended even years after the show ended. Blair never needed another person to define who she was and she certainly didn’t need a man to do that for her. When she envisioned a goal, she sought after it, and took it. This is why Blair’s demeanor encompasses strong women like her.

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blair waldorf

3 reasons I love traveling alone

If you need a boost of self-confidence, you might find it in a solo trip.

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Photo by Savvas Kalimeris on Unsplash

This is a response to Traveling Alone is Not for the Faint of Heart.

Traveling alone can seem scary. As a woman, I've always been aware of the dangers that solo female travelers face. Since I was a kid, my family filled my head with images of being kidnapped, robbed, or harassed if I so much as walked down the block alone. I had ever reason to fear solo travel, and yet, I was drawn to it.

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6 Signs You're A Workaholic

Becuase of all things to be addicted to, you're addicted to making money.

Rowan University

760

kaboompics

After turning 16, our parents start to push us to get a job and take on some responsibility. We start to make our own money in order to fund the fun we intend on having throughout the year. But what happens when you've officially become so obsessed with making money that you can't even remember the last day you had off? You, my friend, have become a workaholic. Being a workaholic can be both good and bad. It shows dedication to your job and the desire to save money. It also shows that you don't have a great work-life balance. Here are the signs of becoming a workaholic.

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workaholic

I forgive you

Forgiveness is the most important part of healing and its the one thing most of us struggle with the most

StableDiffusion

I always thought forgiveness was something you pushed to the back of your mind acted like it never happened and just moved on with life because life keeps going and there's no point on dwelling on the past. Up until these past few years my heart was hardened I would of rather just kept pushing through and getting over it than process what was happening. When your whole life is nothing but trauma back to back with only glimpses of Joy in between I guess you just learn to cope by not thinking about what's happening. The problem with that is eventually it all catches up to you and once your comfortable it all comes back to haunt you which is why its important to process everything I sometimes think I feel too much now but I would rather feel too much than nothing at all.

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Things You Can Get Away With Now That You're At College

83% of my trends in college would have been shamed in high school.

Keuka College

2251

Google Images

Transitioning from high school to college can be a stressful experience, especially if you're like me and hate change. Over the past two years I've realized there's many things I couldn't get away with in High School that are typically applauded in college.

1. Eat

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college

Entertainment

The Life Of A Girl With Chronic Bitch Face As Told by Blair Waldorf

Because smiling gives you wrinkles.

University of California, Santa Barbara

1434

Life is hard. You know what makes it even more tough? Living with chronic b*tch face (CBF). This condition is so debilitating that I have decided to chronicle the 10 things everyone who suffers from CBF experiences. Who better to help me than the queen of CBF herself, Blair Waldorf?

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blair waldorf

Student Life

The 15 Stages Of A Graduating Senior, Developing Senioritis

It hits hard in college.

Troy University

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@harvard/Instagram

I thought senioritis in high school was rough until I became a college senior about to go into the real world. I'm supposed to have everything figured out, right? I mean I went through four years of tough classes and serious self-searching (and crying). What I found overall was Senioritis sneaking up on me.

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graduation

Student Life

8 Texts You Get From Your High School Friends

You might not see them everyday anymore, but you're still friends and your text messages prove it.

The Ohio State University

1012

Ashlynn West

It takes a little while to get used to not seeing your high school best friends every day. Going away to college causes a lot of changes, but one thing that will never change is my love for my high school BFFs, and the texts that I get from them. Here are just 8 of the texts I get from them on the weekly:

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high school friends

Join Odyssey

Odyssey's mission is to affect positive social change by inviting people to share their perspectives, sharpen their opinions, and participate in meaningful conversations with others surrounding the topics they care about most.

It's Been a Long Winter Break

Making the world safer through language.

1. Use singular they for people whose pronouns you don't know, people who use those pronouns, and stop using him/her.

2. Stop using the words "opposite sex" or "both sexes" or "opposite gender" or "both genders".

3. Ask people's pronouns when you meet them.

4. Use the word cisgender.

5. Stop saying "born a boy/girl" about a transgender or non-binary person.

6. Stop using the term 'preferred pronouns'.

7. Stop using a transgender or non-binary person's dead name.

Queen B sums it up for us.

If you need a boost of self-confidence, you might find it in a solo trip.

You can do whatever you want

You gain confidence

You can reconnect with yourself

Sometimes, we just can't help the feelings we have

1. Wow. My voice sounds amazing with this song.

2. Okay, if you can't sing, don't do it.

3. But wait, I don't think I can be friends with someone who isn't going to jam out in the car with me.

4. Dance part in the car! Even when I'm alone. Because every song is my favorite.

5. Stop light. Act calm. Be cool.

6. Yes! Green light! Back at it!

7. I don't know this song, but I'm going to sing along anyway.

8. Why am I not famous yet?

9. Being next to someone who can't sing so you feel good about yourself because you rock!

10. OK, I'm so good. I need to sing louder so I can help these people out.

11. My voice doesn't reach some of those notes, maybe I should sit this one out.

12. Randomly bursting out in song and getting weird looks because of it.

13. God, thank you so much for giving me a good voice.

14. Man, I feel bad for people who can't sing.

15. Was I just humming? Did they hear me?

16. Having dance moves to go along with most songs.

17. Not being able to stop yourself at correcting people when they mess up.

18. Maybe I should post myself singing.

19. Nah, can't do it. Dumb idea.

20. Having my own personal concert in the shower. Every single time.

Normal people wouldn't understand

1. Having time to nap between classes or at all.

2. Waking up 10 minutes before your class starts and making it there in time.

3. Making it to class in general

4. Only having to hit the snooze button three times.

5. When you didn't do the homework and the teacher decides not to collect it for that day.

6. Getting that "I'm sorry, but class is cancelled" email.

7. Finding a quiet seat in the library.

8. Actually enjoying a class and understanding all of the material.

9. Having a friend to eat lunch with.

10. Finishing an assignment before the due date.

11. When there is free food on campus.

Becuase of all things to be addicted to, you're addicted to making money.

1. You can't remember your last day off.

2. Whenever someone asks to hang out, you're working.

3. When you do see your friends, you're in a "treating mood."

4. You work so much you don't have time to spend the money you're making.

5. You're too tired to function when you aren't working.

6. Finally seeing your friends and having way too much to catch up on.

A summer well spent.

1. How to shower in less than 10 minutes.

2. Being comfortable sweating, like all the time.

3. The beauty of not wearing makeup.

4. Naps are essential for survival.

5. Even extreme extroverts need alone time.

6. How to remember names in a few short hours.

7. The freedom in sharing your faults.

8. Showering every day is not necessary.

9. Fake it til you make it.

10. Bugs are the enemy.

Forgiveness is the most important part of healing and its the one thing most of us struggle with the most

83% of my trends in college would have been shamed in high school.

1. Eat

2. Be seen running across campus

3. Sleep

4. Skip Class

5. Blurt out

6. Wear dresses

7. Wear Crocs

8.Run on 4 hours of sleep

9. Use a Laptop

10. Crying

Because smiling gives you wrinkles.

1. “When I first met you, I thought you were a b*tch.”

2. Somebody asks you if you’re mad at them at least once a day.

7. "Do you remember when we at ?"