I recently got a new job. It took me nearly two months of constant applying and interviewing to finally land something, but I did it. During the spring semester I did not have a job so school was my only commitment in regards to time. However, last semester I started becoming increasingly discouraged regarding school. I did not want to finish, I felt it was a waste of my time. My degree would only net me a job in the field it is associated with if I went on to get my masters or doctorate, and I just did not have the energy to commit to that. So I spent all of the last semester looking around wondering what I should do. I felt trapped. I was spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to get a degree in a field I did not want to be in, it was too late to change majors, and with the debt number fast approaching 20,000, I felt I had no choice but the finish. This made me incredibly depressed about my future. I was not passionate enough to pursue my graduate options, and my degree was not going to get me anywhere spectacular on its own, but I had to finish or I would have a huge debt and nothing to show for it. So I forged on.

I was feeling less and less hopeful about my future plans, and becoming more and more depressed as the semester continued. It was at this point that the Odyssey presented itself to me. I was wary at first, but after a bout of dread regarding the future I figured I needed to do anything I could to feel productive since I did not have a job, and I did not feel school was a good use of time. So I started writing, and eventually editing for the Odyssey. This was what helped me get through the semester. Being able to craft interesting articles about whatever I felt like putting my time into was so helpful in giving me something to make myself feel useful again.

Now, however, I have a new job. I enjoy my job, and it has the potential to become a career for me. Maybe not the career I planned, but it is the best shot I have at the moment. I have spent the last 3 weeks training for my new job, and in that time my attention to the Odyssey has all but disappeared. I edit my batch of articles and sometimes write one myself, but usually I spend no time thinking about it. It is a strange thing. It is not that I do not want to write, it is just that I do not think about it anymore. Before I would have hundreds of ideas in my head, and I would always be thinking of more topics. Now it just does not happen. I get to the end of the week, realize I have to write and edit, throw an article together, and move on.

I think my new job has provided me with something to work towards, something to put my effort into. I think this has caused my enjoyment of the Odyssey to subside. I still like writing and editing, but it seems more like an obligation than something to enjoy now. I think having an actual productive use of my time other than the Odyssey has caused me to mentally replace the Odyssey.

Before, the Odyssey was the only thing that made me feel like my life was going anywhere. It was the only thing that felt “worth it.” Now that I have an actual job that could potentially become a career the Odyssey is no longer filling that hole of feeling productive or successful. I think it is human nature to want to work towards something. I can easily spend an entire day watching Netflix or playing video games, but when that is all I do I end up hating it. When I do it in my free time, and spend the rest of my time working it feels rewarding and fun to play or watch whatever I want. So I am sad to see the Odyssey become a smaller part of my life, but I am eternally glad I chose to write for it. It provided me some much needed focus in a time of turmoil, and I do not think I could have made it through the last year without it.