My life was getting boring. I was annoyed with the constant routines of high school with waking up the same hour, walking up the same staircases the same time every day, and always being bombarded with things I was forced to do. I knew I wanted to do something new and exciting for myself, not for any title or because it was expected of me.
I remember talking to my best friend telling her I wanted to try something new. I strangely had the urge to write that day. I realized I always have an abundant amount of thoughts streaming through my head, but I never knew how to convey it. Frankly, I never wanted to convey it for fear of wasting my time since I thought nobody would listen to what I had to say. That is when I saw the Odyssey pop up on my Instagram feed.
I didn't really know anything about it, but I had a desire to be apart of that community of writers. I applied to be a creator and then submitted my first article titled "Friends of The Road" within the next few days.
Everything got better from there, I realized I was making a name for myself through my writing and gifting myself a form of therapy for the thoughts that were once trapped in my head. I gained the feeling of confidence and learned to be genuinely proud of myself for the work I came up with. The best compliments I receive at school now are the ones where people tell me my article really helped them or they found it amazing.
It even helped me in school. I realized I was developing a style for my writing because of my Odyssey articles. Once I realized it, I grabbed on to it and took complete advantage of it in the academic setting I used to dislike so much. The passion for writing I developed through the Odyssey I utilized in school and that helped me prosper in my English class.
But, the best thing I got out of this whole experience so far, was through my article titled "It Is Time To Murder The Act of Suicide In Our Nation".
Today, I logged on to write and saw that the platform was updated. Writers can now see how many people viewed their articles. I saw the over two thousand people read my article. That number may not be a lot compared to the other writers on this platform, but I realized that that number was one of the biggest accomplishments I have made so far.
I wrote that article to cope with the loss of a childhood friend, and now I see that my words could have helped or touched over two thousand people. That is simply amazing to me. The fact that two thousand people took the time to listen to what I had to say.
Overall, the Odyssey made me gain the utmost appreciation for writing. I never knew how fulfilling it would be to shape words to create an art and to help people you may not even know. It helped me break free of simple, high school routines and do something special. Something I was proud of. I've said it multiple times on my page, but if you are hesitant about something, do it! I went on a limb to be a creator and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
