I have been writing for Odyssey for over a year now, and in that year I have grown a lot as a content creator. I have branched out to other platforms, improved my writing, and started getting recognized as a writer by people I encounter in real life. Content creation, for those who are new to the concept, is defined as the contribution of information to any media and most especially to digital media for a user/audience in specific contexts.

This applies to people who write, as well as influencers on social media, videographers, and photographers. Some people do not consider this to be a real job, but in reality, many content creators are doing over 40 hours of work per week on top of any other responsibilities they may have.

In my case, I am a full-time student (like most people on this website) and I am working two internships, one in content creation where I write two articles each day, and one in advising other content creators in how they can best share their work. On top of these, I write my Odyssey articles and articles for another website geared toward college-aged women.

Do not get me wrong, I love to do this—but it is work, and something I spend the vast majority of my time doing, and it can become overwhelming. It is not easy coming up with at least 16 original ideas each week, and getting all the writing done while keeping up with school work.

It is this time commitment that makes the lack of appreciation surrounding this so sad, because a lot of people do not understand how much work goes into creating a portfolio, interviewing for positions, and balancing work with school and other things that need to get done. It is impossible for a content creator to work a 9 to 5 because there is always something to be done, or revisions to be made, to make your work better.