Before even coming to campus to start college, I was already a part of Odyssey at UIUC. Over the summer I had seen a post on Facebook recruiting people to join the writing community, so I got an interview and ended up being added to the team! To be honest, I knew being a part of Odyssey would be a fun thing to do outside of all of my school work, but I soon realized that I was a part of something much bigger than a simple club at school.

To give some background, I've pretty much always been obsessed with writing. During elementary school, I would write little short stories and read them to my family, and I was a part of a lot of writing opportunities throughout middle and high school. I've learned so many things regarding writing as I've gotten older, most of it related to how to write a five-page synthesis essay, but nonetheless, it's been helpful.

Since my academic schedule is filled with the classes that I have to take, there isn't really that many opportunities for me to take any writing-specific classes. That was a major motivator for me to be a part of this community because I knew I needed to have writing in my life.

As I said, I honestly had no idea what I was signing up for when I became a part of the Odyssey family, but in a good way! I assumed I would write some articles about politics and pop culture and would be able to express my viewpoints with the people I went to college with. Little did I know that my writing would become something that people now know me for.

The Odyssey club at UIUC is just a small portion of a much larger organization that headquarters in New York City, so when you think you're writing for some people in your community, you're actually writing for people all across the country. I never realized the power of social media until now because once people see that I've written an article, the number of people that read it can sometimes seem endless.

I've never been one that likes to talk about themselves when in big groups, and honestly that's why I thought I would write more about what's going on in the country rather than what's going on in my life. However, as I started to open up more in my articles, I received so much positive feedback that I didn't even know was possible.

With that said, it's easy to forget how large of an audience you can potentially be writing for. My neighbors, cousins, and even acquaintances have talked to me about things that have happened in my life, and sometimes I have to remind myself that it's because I've written articles about myself and people have genuinely enjoyed learning about me.

To create content for possibly thousands of people to see is nerve-wracking, but has also been extremely rewarding. It has made it a lot easier to talk about myself, and I have also received so many messages from people that I never thought would read my writing, and for that, I am insanely grateful.

Of course, sometimes it can be difficult to have a new topic to write about every week that you think people will want to read, but I've learned that putting out content that you are passionate about is key. It's easy to write articles that you know will get a lot of views, and don't get me wrong, getting a lot of views is such an indescribable feeling. However, writing to me is a way to honestly and freely express myself, and that is what I make sure to do in everything I put out.

I never knew how many people I could impact by sharing what I've gone through and what I believe in, but I'm so glad that I have the ability to do that.

I would have been just as happy if my articles were seen just by the people within my community, but being a part of a much larger group of creative writers whose articles grab people's attention makes me that much more appreciative.

I don't know what will happen in my life or in the world that I will feel is worth writing about, but I'm excited to continue to bring everyone along with me on the journey.