Staying creative is always a frustrating process. Staying creative during the final semester of my college career is a completely different battle. Thoughts and ideas are as fragile as raindrops. They fall out of nowhere and if they don’t touch you they disappear into nothingness. If an idea for an article or a poem doesn’t stay in my mind I can never get it back. It’s gone forever. All I am left with is that constant feeling of what if?
When I joined Odyssey I knew that staying as creative as possible was going to be paramount. Having to write something of substance weekly, I figured that at least this way I wouldn’t have a choice but to do it.
I found myself wanting to write in the middle of the night on the most random of topics. It would be two in the morning and I was talking about feminism or wanting to be a taxi driver. Every thought I had started to flood through and the articles wrote themselves.
The thing about Odyssey is that no matter what you want to write about there is a space for you. As big as the community is there is a subunit at each college that works around you making sure that you are supported when your article is published. Knowing you will never feel alone with your opinions leads to a more honest writing style. I find myself not wanting to shy away from an opinion that might seem uncomfortable. Odyssey did that for me. I used to be scared of what my writing could consist of knowing that those around me would have the chance to read it. I realized quickly that my writing is my own and no one can take my words away from me.
Every moment when a new thought pops into my head I start writing. I don’t push it off and wait for a better time. I see these thoughts as reflections of who I am. If I don’t respect them then how can I expect anyone else to want to read them?
I need Odyssey more than it needs me at this point. Every weekly article does wonders for my confidence as a writer. I am nowhere near where I know I can be but Odyssey is definitely going to help me get there.
