When I checked Facebook today, I looked through my memories, per usual. Some days I laugh at the cringe-worthy posts and pictures I uploaded back in middle school when I first got my account. But today, it was different. It reminded me that exactly one year ago today, I wrote my very first article, "A Letter To My Childhood Best Friend," on Odyssey. As I read back, I realize how much I have grown since that first article went live and how many opportunities this platform has given me... and I could not be more thankful that I decided to join this team.

Before I began my freshman year at WCU, I would see Odyssey articles all over my Facebook. I thought it was so cool, and really wanted to do it when I got to school. So I a few weeks into my first semester, I found out we had a small team forming here and I jumped right on it. And haven't stopped since.

I started small. I was just a freshman and many times found it hard to find something to write about every week. I thought about stopping sometimes, but for some reason, I stayed and always managed to come up with article after article. And for good reason. Odyssey has given me the opportunity to express myself in the best (and only) way I know how... through writing.

For me, writing has always been an escape. The perfect way to express my thoughts. The only way I can get my feelings out is through writing. I feel like by having everything in front of my on paper (or computer screen), I can see things clearly and my problems aren't as big as they seem in my head. It's the only way I feel free. I don't know what it is, but when I get to writing about something I am passionate about I can't stop. It's something I find very hard to explain.

If I thought I was growing before as a Creator for Odyssey, I can't imagine what I'm doing now. A few months ago I took up the Editor-in-Chief position for my team and have learned so much. I think I have grown more these past few weeks than I have my entire year as a Creator. I have met and learned about so many people. I have seen different perspectives and opinions. I have seen the talent and passion of so many writers and I love learning from each of my Creators. Writers have such a special talent-- they can tap into anyone's feelings and thoughts just by combining 26 different letters and they can paint the most colorful picture in someone's mind with only black and white.

When I think back to why accepted the EIC position, I don't think about how it helps me (even though it really does). But I think of all the writers I can help pursue their love of writing. I think of all the badasses that have so much to say, but don't feel like they can. I think of all the people trapped inside their beautiful minds just dying to get their feelings out but don't have a way to. I want to give every single one of them that opportunity. I want them to finally find what I have found: passion. And I wholeheartedly believe Odyssey can do that.

Odyssey isn't about the shares, page views or comments... it's about expressing your vision, your insight. It's giving us, as Millennials, an opportunity we constantly feel is taken away from us-- the opportunity to express ourselves and make a difference. We are the ones with the power to change the world, why shouldn't we be able to scream to the world what we believe in?

So, Odyssey... thank you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to scream to the world. Thank you for letting me help others do the same. Thank you for helping me grow day by day through the one thing that I know I can lean on no matter what. Thank you for finding something inside of me I didn't even know existed, and thank you for letting me express that passion article after article.

Happy Anniversary.