Being an editor-in-chief of a community at Odyssey definitely has it perks. If you're new to my work or somehow stumbled upon this, my name is Charlsley Carey and I am the editor-in-chief of the Midlothian, VA Community. Meaning, while I don't work in an office or am Facebook friends with the CEO or enjoy hangouts with higher ups, I do something cooler than that. Instead of sitting in one of the offices nationwide, I stay at home. I still go to school and I still have another job, but I also edit, recruit, manage, encourage and push people out of their comfort zones and do so much more with the great individuals writing under Midlothian, VA. This job has so many perks and one of them is seeing the incredible content people come up with and write about; things you wouldn't even imagine needed to be shared and it just feels right that they were. I complain a lot about the time I spend always having to edit. Some of the articles, I don't agree with and others, I overly agree with. But really, my complaining is all for show, I secretly really enjoy it. It's a balance and it's beautiful and I wouldn't want it any other way. So, I want to highlight some of the great work of the Midlothian, VA Odyssey and show it off.

1. "To My Mom, From A College Freshman" by Taylor Hall

This article describes basically how 90 percent of people feel as they are leaving their mother to go off to college. It's brilliant, it's relatable, it's also personal, and the cover photo it adorable which draws you in.

"It’s so hard to believe that it’s already time for me to leave the wonderful home you raised me in for all of these years. Thank you for not only putting up with every miserable heartbreak, high school “tragedy,” and problem I ran into along the way, but for being there for me and helping me through all of it as well."

2. "Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover" by Desiree David

I always love it when a content creator will come out and share something from their own life that is extremely personal and vulnerable; this article sums up exactly what Desiree did.

"I love my younger sibling regardless of his identity. He could be 10 feet tall and have a Quasimodo figure and my love for him would never change. I would learn to adjust and carry a six-foot ladder around so no matter what I’d be his equal and not make him an outcast."

3. "Tent City: The Unknown Community of Woodbridge, Virginia" by Steven Lewis Hardeman

If there is anything that I have learned at The Odyssey, it's that people love a local story about your community. I don't know why, but people eat that stuff up. And can I also say, this was Steven's first article... talk about coming straight out the gate kicking butt and taking names.

"It's just 25 miles from Washington, D.C., hidden along the forest of Dale Boulevard. Minutes away from the shopping and dining epicenter of Prince William County sits a neighborhood not many are familiar with much less, ever heard of. Tent City. I took a journey into this unknown territory to speak with its residents and discover what life is like for a small dozens of the hundreds of homeless in one of the wealthiest counties of Virginia."

4. "As I Lay Dying" by Shelby Bates

As someone who is not majoring in anything involving STEM, this article really was beautiful to me, and others like me. Brilliant, Shelby, just brilliant.

"The fatal moment when some well-meaning individual asks “So what are you in school for?” Tell them you’re majoring in English, history, a fine art, or a myriad of other programs and you’re inevitably hit with the painfully overused: “Oh, so you’re going to be a Barista then?”"

5. "An Open Letter To My Brother In The Sky" by Dustin Mullins

Like I said earlier, I love when articles open up to you and any other reader and show you the true vulnerable side of a person as Dustin shows in this heart-touching article.

"Honestly, losing you was the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with. At first, I didn't believe it. I thought there was no way my vibrant and full of life older brother was gone. Then, if we are being completely honest, I was angry. Incredibly angry. How could my big brother just leave? Right now? Right in the moment where I am supposed to take control of my future and decide what kind of man I'm supposed to be. I know it may sound selfish, but I was pissed."

6. "What Community College Is Really Like" by Jenny Jonason

A lot of these articles are my favorite because, selfishly, I can relate to them. But, isn't that what any good writer knows to do? Any good content, that wasn't written for entertainment purposes, is something that can relate directly to your audience.

"I'm not going to lie, when I started at community college I expected it to be way easier than it actually is. I don’t care what anyone says, they are stepping up their game. I don’t think I went a single day without homework, or a day I didn’t come home without my brain completely fried."

7. "You Are Loved" by Emory Burkhalter

This one has a reminder you may just need to see today.

"You are here for a reason, don't ever think you aren't. There is a purpose to your life. Jeremiah 29:11 says: For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope in the future." God has placed you here on this earth for a reason he wrote the storybook you are living in. You might not know what to do but he does."

8. "Out With The Bad, In With The Good" by Taylor Lesyk

Believe it or not, this was actually one of the most controversial articles I've ever had to do some serious drama control for. Weird, right? But, after watching this writer, who was my contributing editor for a while, get torn down by someone - it only made me want to watch this article succeed more. Which, it did.

"Through all the craziness, I never gave myself time to adjust. Till this day I still have problems that arise during stressful situations. Right when I got home from Longwood, I started working again. As January came around, classes became my full-time job and my hours at Starbucks decreased.

Now I know all I’m practically doing is talking about all the bad things that happened this year. There’s a point, I swear."

9. "To My First Love/First Heartbreak" by Ashton Beals

Because every heartbroken person needs to see this and show all their heartbroken friends.

"You may wonder why I’m writing this, I’m wondering why I’m writing this. It’s been three months since you left. Three Whole Months and all I can ask is why? Why did you leave me? I don’t understand. You promised me no matter what you’d never leave. But you did. You left."

10. "The Universe Doesn't Care" by Genevra Mullis

Honestly, to this day, this was probably the funniest article I have ever edited at my time here at Midlothian. If you haven't read it, and need a good laugh - do yourself a favor and check out this one. It's short, sweet, and will have you DYING.

"In all of time, humanity is a tiny blip. We have existed for 200 thousand years. The universe has existed for 14 billion years. In the eyes of time, we are nothing more than ants. We will all be squashed under its heel one day and it won't care. The universe won't care."

11. "Talking About The F Bomb" by McKinley Hughes

If I tell you what it's about, it will spoil the title. Do yourself a favor and go over and read this.

"I was quickly slapped in the face with a harsh reality check when I noticed my coworker’s faces. After I dropped the big F-bomb the entire room filled up with a cloud of awkwardness that left me completely dumbfounded."

12. "Good Things This Week" by Kathleen Carey

Because aren't we all just so tired of all the negative news stories? I, as a mass communications major, understand the logic of "if it bleeds, it leads." Trust me, I really do. But, sometimes, I just want to hear some feel-good stories and Kathleen provided a bunch of them.

"Watching the news can tend to be a real buzz-kill. The news is generally 30 minutes of non-stop bad news (especially in the summer when the even the weather report is bad news. Triple digits is entirely too much). But every now and then, a good story gets sprinkled in and that glimmer of hope is restored again."

13. "You Are Stronger Than You Think" by Bryson Lee

Because I really think people need to be reminded of this.

"Everyone wants things like love, friends that turn into family, family, fun, experiencing life, and learning. Once any of that is threatened or hurt in some way then we begin to retreat into ourselves to deal with the pain."

14. "Fahrenheit 2016: Why You Should Be Fuming At The Library" By Stevie Jarrett

I really love seeing a content creator's passions come out in an article and I really saw a fire of passion of Stevie's ignite in this one... ha... get it?

"The last week of September celebrates a specific freedom that many forget about; often we take the freedom to read for granted. It's such a mundane task to pour a cup of coffee and read an enjoyable novel of our choice. Did you know that there is actually a list of books challenged by the government and libraries?"

15. "Christmas Time All The Time" by Erinne Phillips

Because any article mentioning the most amazing holiday, aka Christmas, automatically goes into my top ten.

"September through about January are probably the most appropriate times, in my opinion, to start celebrating Christmas. I'm talking music blasting, sweater wearing, tree decorating, gift giving, junk food eating celebrating."

16. "How I Ended Up With Four Cats At Age 20" by Faith Price

It's a unique and a cute story and like... God bless cats, am I right?

"All of this is to say one thing; I really like animals. I'd always grown up with them being a part of the family, so when I moved out on my own I knew that I would end up getting my own little fur babies some day."

17. "My First Experience Eating A Cinnabon Delight From Taco Bell" By Nikki Daniels

God bless Taco Bell.

"Yeah, one of those moments. The moment when the world stops. All that you hear is your breathing and all that you see is what that is in front of you. Time stops. Everything freezes. The moment that only happens once in your life. That indescribable, insane, incredible moment.

I bet you think this is about love. Well, you're right! No, not with another person. This is better. I'm talking mind-blowing. Are you ready for this? Make sure you're sitting down. Prepare yourself. Here it comes."

Wanna join us? Request an invite at theodysseyonline.com/apply and select Midlothian, Virginia as your community!