Dear fellow Odyssey Online contributors,
I have been reading the Odyssey Online since the eighth grade version of myself desperately needed to know if I was the only person on the planet who was completely unprepared for life. It turns out that I was in good company, not just because I read about others who were struggling, but I also read about their triumphs. As I started high school and moved onto college, I found comfort in the words of people just like me who understood the stuff I was going through and who could offer something funny to cheer me up or uplifting to remind me that things aren't as bad as they seemed. Adults had kept telling me that all of the stuff that I was going through, the good, the bad, and the ridiculous were pretty standard, but I needed someone closer to my age to really confirm that. The first time I went suffered through a particularly painful breakup, after leaning on my friends and family, I turned to the Odyssey once again to help me move on. I know that coming-of-age and breakup advice don't seem that serious and yet, at the time I seriously needed it.
When I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, a week after my eighteenth birthday and two months before starting college, I was once again unprepared for life. I found amazing and relatable articles on here that told me that Crohn's Disease sucks in general and dealing with in college sucks even more, but I would survive it. They included tips on dealing with the symptoms in a place where privacy could be hard to find and how to talk to others about what I'm going through. My fellow contributors didn't sugarcoat the situation or tell me that it was "no big deal", they came from a place of understanding that luckily no one else in my family could fully understand.
Even now as a contributor to the Odyssey, I am still in awe of my fellow writers. I still look up articles to help me with everything from Fall fashion to surviving exams to new TV shows to binge to dealing with chronic diseases. I guess this letter is to say thank you to all of the people on this website that have inspired me, made me laugh, and reminded me that I am not alone.
I hope that every contributor that reads this understands how important all of their articles are to readers. I know that "Quotes by Brooke Davis to Live By" seems like click-bait to some, but it made me feel better knowing that I was not the only person who lived for One Tree Hill and it made me laugh. Sometimes everyone needs something that is fun and interesting to read and the Odyssey offers that too. I am honored to be among the great writers of the Odyssey.
Love,
Maggie