It's funny to think that just two and a half(ish) years ago, I replied to one email that would totally flip the course of my college career. Back when Odyssey (actually, "The" Odyssey), was searching for "writers" (mostly Greek, might I add) and all you had to do was write one article per week, I got an email to join the Penn State team.

I knew I really liked to write—I just wasn't really into writing about my campus's ongoings or college sport teams—so I didn't know exactly where I should write. And I definitely wasn't about to start my own blog or anything (haha, look at me now).

So, whatever, sign me up. I'll do this Odyssey thing. I replied yes, with the most unprofessional flourish of a handful of exclamation points.

My first articles are so painful I want to cry. UGH. If you want to back stalk me go ahead, I promise I'm cringing with you.

But, thankfully—or at least I like to think so—I got a lot better styling my writing for Odyssey. And within a few months, it wasn't long before I garnered a reputation for writing witty posts about the Penn State social scene. I'll never forget the first time I was out a frat party and someone came up to me and screamed "you're the girl who writes articles!"

Yes, OK, I did feel like a Penn State semi-celebrity. But that moment also me realize just how much potential power the pen (well, keyboard) has. And I won't forget it.

Overtime, I kept writing about things that mattered to me, whether they were Penn State related or not. I documented my study abroad experiences in Italy, my belief in dressing well for class, and my love for New York.

Midway through my junior year, then serving as Contributing Editor for Odyssey at Penn State, I lazily filled out the application to be an Editorial Intern for the summer in New York. At the time, it was a safety net. I was nearing the end of interviews for a different internship in public relations across the country in Denver, faraway from the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple and certainly nothing like Odyssey. The night before my final interview with Odyssey (how I was one of 15 to be chosen from a pool of 500+ applicants, I don't understand...shout out to the man upstairs, tbh.)

I received the news that I was chosen as a "runner-up" for Denver. Huh? I, Emi Gutgold, a semi-neurotic perfectionist who rarely ever fails at anything, was a second choice? I cried. A lot.

But I went into my Odyssey interview with more gusto than before.

At the end of the interview, after I told my interviewers that if I had to be a kitchen appliance, I would be a coffee maker because I like to think I'm the reason people get out of bed in the morning, I finished with "ha, yeah fingers crossed you pick me," before promptly hanging up the phone and bursting into tears. I know, I'm a nutcase. And I was convinced that I had just blown all my internship prospects... even my safety net ones.

Frustrated, I turned to my laptop and quickly started thinking of ideas for my next post.

"13 Reasons Why Internships Are STUPID"

"Why I Literally Hate Adult Things"

"OMG Interviews are POINTLESS"

Thankfully, none of them made it out of draft before I received a FaceTime call, in front of the entire Editorial staff, that I would be spending my summer in Midtown Manhattan. And my Odyssey journey progressed once again.

I spent three months eating, breathing, sleeping Odyssey. And while yes, I was completely changed as a young professional, I think I grew up more in those three months working in New York than I ever did during multiple semesters in college. I met the most amazing and inspiring people. I learned from the best mentors and editors. I became an expert on everything and anything that had to do with the editorial side of the company. I fell in love with everything about Manhattan. I left New York as a better person and as a better writer (with the tiniest tattoo in tribute to the best summer I've ever had). I was crowned Editor in Chief of my Penn State community, something I had been pining after for the past year. And as I crossed through the Lincoln Tunnel on my way back to Pennsylvania, I burst into tears yet again.

As a writer, and someone who always a one-liner halfway out of my mouth, it's a rarity for me when I can't seem to find the right words. I always have something to say, which is partially why I started writing for Odyssey in the first place. But when it comes to putting into words how much I owe such an amazing company, I get tongue-tied in the process.

Because of Odyssey, the past two and a half(ish) years have been some of the best years of my life. Odyssey shaped me, molded me and prepared me for my post-grad years and beyond. Odyssey gave me the opportunity to write and get my voice heard. Odyssey helped me realize that words do matter. And that anyone who is brave enough to speak their mind has the power to shape the minds of the those around them. Odyssey led me to the greatest places and the greatest people. It's given me some of the best memories I could ask for and has prepared me for some of the best memories to come.

I never could have imagined that one little email could have changed my college career. But it did. And for that, I'm forever thankful.