The time has come for some big changes for me. Graduation is days away, and the 'real world' is coming. And thankfully, I'm really excited for this next chapter. But unfortunately, with all these new endeavors, I'm sad to announce that I will be leaving Odyssey. But before I go, there's some important things I'd like to say.

I started writing these articles a little more than a year ago, in a very different place than I am now. I was a writer without a single published article to my name, trying to break into an industry that I, frankly, had no experience in. Writing has always been the dream for me. And while that dream has been changed and altered over the last four years, the goal has always stayed the same.

I'd heard about Odyssey through Facebook. A old high school classmate had been a Content Creator, in another city, for another college, in another state. And hell, if she could do it, so could I, right?

And I did. The first time I saw my name on an article, I just about started crying. Week after week, idea after idea, I wrote articles on everything from books to body parts. And I loved it. But it hadn't quite dawned on me yet what these articles would bring me to. You see, I'd been trying to become a freelance copywriter for quite a while at this point. But a writer is nothing without samples, so I was dead in the water. Application after application, turned down without much thought.

And it stayed that way, until about three months had gone by. More applications, this time with two or three articles to show for myself.

Then came the first job: $30 for 10,000 words (which yes, is absolutely nothing). Then the second: $5 per 500 (which is one step up from absolutely nothing). I spent a summer like this, making nothing, writing excessively. And I looked forward to writing my pieces for Odyssey, as it was the only opportunity I had to write what I wanted.

Eventually I was landing jobs consistently, but I was still working two other jobs and in school full time. And after almost a year of working myself to the bone and barely keeping my head above water, it happened. The pieces fell into place and I got to where I am now. A full-time copywriter.

But I wouldn't be without Odyssey. I had every opportunity, and I wrote on every topic I could think of. And nothing could've been more helpful in the long run. Because now, I'm comfortable writing on any subject, typing twice as fast and understanding topics and genres I never thought I would. I've tried out formatting, worked right up to the deadline and learned the value of web traffic.

These are skills I'll be using every day. Skills I already use every day. And so I'd like to thank Odyssey, the amazing editors and managers from the Western Washington University chapter, and the friends I convinced to join me on this wild ride. It's been an amazing learning experience for me, and I'll be thankful for these experiences for the rest of my life.