Roughly one year ago, I received a message asking if I wanted to join the Odyssey community on my college campus. I was only a few weeks into my college experience and in search of clubs to join and places to fit in. I had no clue what I was getting into and had every right to turn the opportunity down. It was sort of a scary commitment at the time.

When I was first asked, I didn't know what this website was. I had seen the viral articles before on Facebook, full of sappy sentences and vague inspirational quotes, but other than that, I didn't know much. Did I even have anything important to say like those articles?

It seemed like fate though. I've felt at ease when I write as long as I can remember. Many of my future dreams and aspirations center around my writing, and they may seem lofty but not as much when I get to share my words every week on here. I took the plunge and became a creator, not expecting much of it, other than a chance to practice my storytelling skills.

I remember feeling giddy when I had over 10 views on my first article. It made me feel like a celebrity, that someone out there was interested in what I had to say. I kept refreshing my page, excited to see the number slowly go up. It was an added bonus to the joy I already felt in getting to write.

I found myself beginning to brainstorm articles during class and working weeks ahead while I binge-watched whatever the latest sensation on Netflix was. My ideas would spiral, and I would grow more ambitious with the feedback I got every week. I started to feel comfortable enough to be ridiculous and put my terrible puns in my articles as clearly evidenced in any of my mascot articles (and there sure are a lot of them). All of it made me feel like I already was a professional writer with complete freedom to say whatever I wanted.

Some weeks I took my articles more seriously than I did my schoolwork and strove to put out my best work yet, hoping to surpass my views record. After a year of doing this though, I can honestly say there isn't always a set type of article to get more views than others. My highest viewed story was motivational quotes paired with puppies, so life can be full of surprises.

My articles are often my outlet for the real world, and I used my weekly stories as an opportunity to grapple with my own problems and insecurities along with the crazy world around me. It was definitely a motivator during the monotony of quarantine too.

I went from geeking out over a couple views on my first articles to getting a story featured on the Odyssey Instagram page and another on the Facebook page within a year. I got a miniscule taste of fame and as satisfying as it felt, it felt even better when I read over a story I just wrote and beam with pride over what lay before me. Or when I reread my old articles and find myself laughing out loud at the jokes that only I probably find funny. Or at any person who told me how much they enjoyed reading my writing, like I've always wanted to do with the articles, stories, & books I've read since I was young.

In this past year, I've learned so much about myself through my writing, and I can't wait to see what I'll discover next. So, as always, thanks for reading; it truly means the world to me.