I started writing for the Odyssey on July 12, 2016. I had just graduated high school and I was headed on my way to college the next fall. I was trying to savor my time with my friends over the summer because I was scared we would not see each other for so long once we went to college. I was worrying about if I would make friends in college and if I would like the campus I was at. I was worrying about getting a job, an internship, and a lot of other things that I knew came with growing up and graduating from high school.

While I am still worrying about money and internships and finding a job, I am so glad I had something like the Odyssey that I could write down all of my frustrations, insights, questions, and overall wonderings about this time in my life. I am glad I get to look back at all of my articles and realize how far I have come as a writer and as a human being.

I have grown a lot in my writing because I have learned that as long as I write about things I am interested in and make my writing enjoyable and informative I can reach a lot of people and inform them about things they might have never known about. I love reading, writing, listening to a wide range of music, and watching musicals which is not the same for a lot of my family and friends. Through this experience I have gotten to introduce my friends and family to the things I am interested in like Broadway shows, bands and artists I like, books I have read, and my opinion on a lot of things that are going on in our world. I have started conversations with people I might not have if it were not for this platform. I have gotten to read about other peoples opinions on politics, religion, and social norms and, even if I did not agree with what they had to say, reading their opinion was eye opening and it made me understand what people on that side of the argument were thinking.

This year has been an eventful one full of presidential election talk, arguments about war, planned parenthood, sexuality, gender, and many other things. While these topics are always being disputed, the election really brought them into focus and made us question even our deepest beliefs. I learned a lot from the articles I read on here and I hope people feel the same about my own articles.

I hope to continue to use Odyssey as a place to interact with people who have vastly different views than me, communicate with people I am friends with on social media, share my opinions, advocate for things I believe in, and share my likes and dislikes with as many people as I can. As long as we are keeping the conversations alive and sharing and accepting every ones opinions and beliefs, we can connect with so many people and learn things we never thought we would. Thank you, Odyssey, for teaching me so much and helping me share my writing with everyone in just one year. Here's to many, many more!