I have written for the Odyssey for over a year and a half now but where do I see myself going?

At first, I had no idea what I wanted to write about. You see, I am used to writing short stories and books, that I never took the time to write lifestyle articles or personal pieces. As I look through my work from when I started, I can tell my voice was there, but it is was not flourishing as itself.

The Odyssey is made up of so much self-commentary and college student relatable content. For a while, I was striving to write this content because in my eyes it was deemed important and ideally what every creator was introduced to write about.

The Odyssey has six popular types of articles:

1. News

2. Sports

3. Lifestyle

4. Relationships

5. Politics

6. Health & Wellness

When I first started writing for the Odyssey, I had no guidance. I was told I could write anything but I noticed the standard for article writing had an only the six categories above. I have nothing against pieces, many people desire to read lifestyle or opinion pieces to connect with others. It is a community of literary liberality and it flourishes.

However, I noticed many people like me were CONSTANTLY struggling with what to write about. Without a doubt, I know I love writing but why was starting to struggle what to write about?

Why was this a recurring issue?

I looked online for help during these writing blocks and even went to friends for advice, but they did not help me.

It is not until I went home for winter break that I noticed the root of the problem. While home, I began to work on my short stories and books that I had put on pause in order to focus on school.

Something was different and for the first time in a while, my creativity exploded. I could not stop writing and I did not struggle to express my voices on endless pages.

I came to the conclusion that was writing content that did not feed my creativity. When you try to fit yourself into a box you will feel like you can't escape. In my mind, I had to be in this box to be a successful writer on the Odyssey.

But here's an important reminder, every writer is different. We are not the same, we all have our own style, voice, and presence when we write.

Have you asked yourself what kind of writer you are? Or how you started writing in the first place? Anyone can write op-eds or about politics, but I began to question how am I different?

I am a storyteller. I am expressive through the art form of narrative and prose. I neglected this part of myself because it was not something I believed could not do on the Odyssey. But I can and I will. My goal this year is to feed my creativity and to live through open word content that best suits my writing style.

I aim to apply this to my following pieces, to truly embrace my unique voice through different pieces. I aim to grow in my writing and in my creativity. This is a chance to get to know myself all over again and show you who I really am.

Have you thought about your writing style? Who are you as a writer?