It’s not you, it’s me. Since we first got together in February, we were both excited at the potential. Week after week, we created new stories and people were so encouraging with their kind words. Odyssey, it’s been incredible. Together we’ve shared lots of stories to make people think about things differently, write one too many relatable lists, and received so much love from others. I didn’t know when I would be ready to end this relationship, but I think the time has come. Thank you for loving me, allowing me to vent to you in times of need, and supporting me the whole way through. Here’s to our journey, Odyssey, it’s been one memorable ride.

It all began when I sent my friend a piece I had written out of anger and heartbreak and they told me “that feels like something I would read on Odyssey." I was taken aback and flattered by this compliment. I always read Odyssey articles when I was needing to find an article to convince me that a boy was stupid, I would survive college, or find someone who wrote about how much they loved "The Office" as much as I did. Odyssey had it all and I loved reading people’s stories. To hear that I created something like that was one of the biggest compliments. I decided to look into what it took to write for Odyssey, as I had a previous yearbook experience in high school, and I felt like I could do it. Well, I applied, and the rest is history. I became an Odyssey writer.

God gave me a voice, and if you know me even a little bit, you know it’s loud, obnoxious, and is used all hours of the day. I love that I have had the opportunity to use that voice on such a large platform and use it to do good in the world. I’ve had the opportunity to share things I’m passionate about and while I didn’t expect people to really read what I had to say, people did. Every week I was astounded at not only who read it, but how many people read it. Not only did they read, they shared. The numbers only kept growing. I still don’t have my mind wrapped around the hundreds of shares I’ve received, but goodness, I am so grateful. What a blessing to share my stories across the world.

I don’t really want to stop, but I’ve hit a roadblock and the best things in life must come to an end. This doesn’t mean I’m done writing; if anything, it’s the beginning of a new journey. I didn’t ever think I was a “good writer," but week after week, people never failed to remind me and for that I am always so grateful. There are a lot of people who encouraged me throughout this four-month writing journey, and so instead of using this last article to create an acceptance speech, I’ll keep it short. To those of you who shared, liked, or commented on my articles each week, thank you. Without those simple encouraging gestures, I would’ve stopped writing after day one, but people I loved and even people I didn’t know continued to inspire me. Also to my friends, who gave me endless topic ideas and spent their time editing my articles, I wouldn’t have made it without your help. Who knew that through writing I would feel so loved? I guess that’s just another reason why I love to do it.

I talked in my April article about closing chapters and opening new ones. I guess I am finally listening to myself, except I feel like this chapter is not closing because I’m not done writing. I’ll continue to write essay after essay as I pursue Secondary English Education with a possible minor in Journalism. I’ll write text messages to thank people for being my friend and encourage them when they need it most. I’ll write in my journal that I keep when I read the Bible each day as I make sure to thank God for my ability to write and share my voice, as I’m so grateful He gave me this gift. I’ll always write because it’s become a way for me to express myself and give my vocal chords and other people’s ears some rest. I love writing and I didn’t realize it until I took this leap of faith and decided to publish and share my writing. Some risks are just worth taking and I’m glad I had someone who convinced me to do it.

So, Odyssey, although I’m just another relationship you have to balance on your plate, you’ve given me so much in such a short amount of time. We’ve struggled to brainstorm together, we’ve shared some really personal stories to a large audience, live tweeted a KU basketball game on a national platform, and reminded ourselves how lucky we are to be surrounded by so many incredible friends and family. This may be the end of our story, but you still have some incredible writers who will come and go, and well, as much as some people won’t like to hear it, my voice will still be booming for the world to hear. You will always be a part of my life that I’ll always be grateful for. Thanks for the memories. I’ll always love you and will definitely miss you.