When I was young I have always loved writing. I loved using my imagination but the older I got the more I started to journal. Of course my parents would read my journals so I stopped writing altogether because I did not want them to read what I was feeling. I wanted everything I wrote to be kept to myself and so I tried to find a different outlet to express myself. I tried sports, I tried learning the piano, I even tried being out of the house a lot. Little did I know; none of that helped me a lot. It wasn't until I went through a lot this past summer that I got back to journaling.
I won't go into a lot of detail about what happened but let's just say it was a pretty life changing experience. I lost friends that I thought were my "ride or die" and at one point I lost who I truly was. I felt like no one was listening to me and nothing I did was right. I felt so helpless and discouraged in my own house that there have been nights where I sat on my bathroom floor and thought about taking my own life; that's how helpless I was. I kept on journaling, I kept on expressing my emotions, and I kept talking to my best friend whenever I was down. There was one day to where I was talking to my best friend and I had asked her for different outlets to express myself whenever I was upset and when she had suggested I sign up for The Odyssey; my life had changed.
i had signed up, received a welcome email and phone call from the president, and immediately got started on my first article. I remember reading articles from The Odyssey and how simple articles made me feel like I wasn't alone in the world, how there were other people that knew exactly how I felt and what I was going through, all of those feelings I had experienced when I read the articles; that's how I wanted my readers to feel. My first article was probably one of my hardest articles I have ever typed up to this day It was raw, honest, and made me cry after I had pressed submit. After I finished crying not only was there this huge weight lifted off my shoulder but I was nervous about how many people would read my article but how many people will my article touch.
As I kept on submitting my articles I kept on realizing how many views they were getting. I did not realize how much they were getting read and it felt so weird realizing that it was my voice was being heard through these articles. I never thought that my articles were well written simply because I usually just type all of this up on the spot, but it touched my heart that people were reading my articles and some people were even sharing them on their Facebook.
The Odyssey not only gave me an opportunity to let my voice be heard but it also saved my life. Being a content creator allowed me to express how I am feeling, my inner thoughts, but also it gave me a healthy outlet to share my emotions instead of bottling up all of these emotions inside and beyond a supportive community. My articles may not be well written but it is who I am and I will forever be thankful for The Odyssey, my president and EIC, my community, but most importantly; my readers for allowing me to share my voice.
