In a world that is so full of people who tear each other down, it's hard to put ourselves out there with something we love. For me, one of the things I love is writing. And believe it or not, it takes a lot for me to make my writing publicly accessible. Being passionate about something and being vulnerable enough to let it loose for everyone to see should be commended, not laughed about.

You may not like my writing and I'm OK with that because I recognize that we are all very different people with very different opinions. However, please don't say things like, "You think you know everything because you write articles for The Odyssey" or "Why don't you go write an article about it?" I don't think that I know everything just because I write. There's a world of things I don't know, I'm aware of that. But writing helps me explore all kinds of worlds and all I ever do is learn something I hadn't known before.

Why would anyone want to try to take away someone's emotional outlet? For me, writing allows me to make discoveries about myself as well as find closure in certain situations I am going through. Writing, for me, is simultaneously selfish and selfless. I write for myself, but I also write for my readers. I want people out there to know they aren't alone in their trials and tribulations and they have someone who fights the same battles. So, please, don't try to take away something I love. I hope you, too, find something you love and I promise to support what you are passionate about if only you reciprocate.

This life can be cruel and we need to start building our peers up and supporting people who do what they enjoy. There is nothing more beautiful in this world than someone who follows their passion and loves it. So, why would you ever want to make someone feel even the least bit secure in their pursuits?

Yes, we need to learn to toughen ourselves and develop thick skin because we are so often criticized, but we also need to teach others to soften their hearts and praise those who do what a lot of us are often too scared to.

If there's one thing I've learned this year it's that we are all still learning. We are still completely in the dark about who we are and what we should be doing. If someone wants to follow their bliss, let them and support them for it. They should love themselves, and you should too.

Let the beauty we love be what we do. Rumi.