Nearly a year ago, I started writing on this platform. Halloween of 2017 I got this position, and I was ecstatic. It was my first publishing writing gig of sorts, and I was getting to meet so many new and interesting people.
Since then, things have happened. I started officially working on my novel, I started applying to an MFA program, I started working on a freelance blog, and I got tired of being used by this trash platform.
No, my experience has not been a total garbage fire. If it was, I wouldn't have stayed on for nearly a year. If it was, I wouldn't have danced in my room when I was accepted as a writer or again when I was accepted as a second Contributing Editor for my community.
Which, by the way, is not University of Houston. I never thought I had a school spirit bone in my body, but I am a friggin' Bearkat. I am a student of Sam Houston State University, and that is my community.
The day that was taken away was the same day that a lot of dreams were shattered because HQ refuses to ever keep us in the loop.
We suddenly were merged with a dying community, our highest leadership position was taken away from us and given to the leader of the new organization, we were expected to have no qualms with anything happening, and a few of us lost our opportunities at major leadership roles.
I'm not upset about the new community members—they're lovely people, and our President tries her damnedest considering everything HQ is throwing at her.
No, I'm upset at the way we're being treated. We are college students that chose to give our time to this site because we have a passion for our voices, not so we can be used for views to get a company that cares more views than quality.
Bad articles happen. Bad writers happen. Good writers can have bad ideas. None of those are any excuse for this site to share those awful articles simply because they get a knee-jerk reaction from everyone around.
Guess what, Odyssey? You're making your writers look incompetent with your own incompetence.
You're making us question whether it's a good idea to keep you on our resumes because you care more about controversial articles that generate views and click-bait titles than actual good content.
Want a few articles that would be way better to share?
Check out some articles from my peers - they write some real things about friends, being bilingual, participation trophies, workplace differences, poems about love, how religion isn't always the answer, the importance of celebrating yourself, and how people accept themselves.
Oh, and Odyssey? Maybe don't hire people that ghost us when we need them or try to pit Editor-In-Chief and writer against each other. That's the kind of stuff that really grinds on people's nerves, just like when someone suddenly gets told their position no longer exists.
I was going to leave peacefully because my schedule has gotten too full to keep up with, but because of things these past few weeks, I'm going to leave with a big ol' fuck you.
Goodbye, Odyssey, and good riddance. I'll miss the people I've worked with, but I certainly won't miss you.
