For years I struggled to find a way to express what I was feeling inside, and instead of trying to voice these feelings I stayed quite, eventually shutting myself off from the world around me. In eighth grade I was introduced to a new perspective in the world of writing, my teacher having us write to prompts about our lives, eventually telling our story in whole each day. While to many this was the activity that made their day go by just a little bit slower and caused them to complain, I found joy and peace in writing, it was something that allowed me to feel without having to open up to someone else.

Now I am able to write to share my story to help and inspire others.

The bonds I have formed with almost complete strangers, only knowing them by their social media pictures and writings, are incredible and by far one of my favorite aspects about writing for Odyssey. Just in my community alone, I find myself relating to others and texting them in my free time. I am fortunate to have found a support system within this group of wonderful souls, that have had a huge and lasting impact on my life.

Honestly, there are days when I don't see a reason to continue and lack any motivation to even get myself out of bed. Those are the days when suicidal thoughts become all consuming and I turn to self harm for relief, in an effort to feel alive again. It is then writing seems impossible, the idea of finding words to tell a story doesn't seem rational for my tired mind but what keeps me going is knowing others are depending on me. There is a deadline waiting for me each and every Friday and a community full of people hoping to meet the weekly deadline.

Being part of an Odyssey community gives me purpose and hope, and I hope that I can pass on a part of it to anyone else who reads these articles. At the end of the day, I know I must pull myself up out of bed and get onto my computer and write until I feel myself slowly come back to life. I write myself back to life.