I've written for Odyssey since January of 2016. When I was accepted to join as a Content Creator, I was completely ecstatic. I could not believe that I, a clueless freshman, was going to be able to produce content on such an incredible platform. If you had told that freshman that her little dream of being EIC would be true one day, she would not have believed you.
But somehow, here we are. I've been EIC for around a year and it has been absolutely incredible. I've had several editors above me, I've had dozens of Content Creators on my team, I've been asked to write sponsored content, I've been paid for my articles. Odyssey has brought so much to me, and I have absolutely no clue where I would be right now if I did not have this platform and these people around me every day.
The last few months have been rough for my community of Creators. Our numbers have plummeted, the motivation has vanished, and we have not been a team.
I want to change that.
This week marks the beginning of a new era of Odyssey on my campus. I want people to be proud to tell their friends and classmates that they write for Odyssey. I want us to have articles reach the other side of the country. I want my Creators to be a team and to want to encourage and help each other every step along the way.
A lot of my team's shortcomings fall on me. If I am being completely honest, I have not been the Editor-in-Chief that my Creators deserve. I'm only human too, and I make mistakes, but this does not excuse my lack of effort and drive when it has come to this community.
It is because of all this that I know I can change the culture and re-engage the conversation at this university. It will mean more hours than I've ever put into Odyssey, more recruiting, more outreach, more video calls, more questions and answers and asking for help and advice from anyone that I can. But, ultimately, I know I can do it.
I write this article, not only to explain to myself all that I want to do in the next few weeks but to also show to my team that I want to fix things. That I will fix things.
Communication will always be a two-way street, but it has to start with someone. Everyone has to have their own drive, but someone has to set the bottom line and the ultimate goal to reach for.
I believe in my team. I know the type of content that they produce. I've seen their best work, so I know just how far they can go. I owe it to all of them to make this community and this campus something to be proud of.
We are strong.
We are young.
We are reckless.
We can do anything.
We are Odyssey. We will show you what we can do.