If you know me, you know that I write for Odyssey and I am the EIC (editor-in-chief) for the community at Auburn Montgomery! Even if you don't know me and the only place you see me is class, you've probably heard me talking about Odyssey. I try to introduce as many people as possible to the idea that there is a platform out there that would allow them to be themselves while also encouraging self-improvement among other things. Some have been receptive to what I said and joined the team while others have not. That's okay, though! This experience isn't everyone's cup of tea but I encourage each of you to think about writing for Odyssey at your school or start a team! To further explain why I chose to write for Odyssey, here's how I started in the first place!
At the end of April 2016, I was finishing up my freshman year of college at Auburn Montgomery and I could feel that something was missing. I saw a friend of mine, Jinny, who wrote for another local school's Odyssey team, posting her articles on Facebook! Her articles were always spot on. I wondered if I could do something like that too. At the time, I didn't think I was a very good writer but I thought I would give it a shot. I found the website to request and invite to the community and I did! Little did I know of the roller coaster ride to come. After the full community was formed and before we officially launched, I was approached by our amazing ME (managing editor) Shannon about considering the EIC role. Woah. I honestly felt like Princess Mia when she first found out that she was a princess.
Even though I was slightly overwhelmed with what I was going to be doing, I took the leap and accepted! After we got a full team and we could start writing, I was extremely nervous. What would I write about? Who would care what I wrote about? What is everyone else writing about? How in the world will I edit all of these articles? These were all questions I had at least once. Thankfully, I had my ME the rest of my community to back me up!
Fast forward until now, five months and a couple of amazing, stressful, rewarding weeks have passed. I've come to realize that I love to write. I love social media. I love the idea that I could be someone who has an influence. I've also realized, through looking back at high school, English classes I've taken so far, and compliments from friends, family, and strangers in some cases, that I'm actually a lot better at this than I thought. Writing and being an EIC for Odyssey has changed me. It's taught me a lot about myself and it's showed me that my opinion, my voice does matter even in a sea with thousands of others. I love it so much that I've decided to change my major!
I write for Odyssey because I love and believe in it. I write for Odyssey because of what it promotes. I continue to write for Odyssey because of the amazing team I have - we're a family! Knowing you have people behind you supporting you isn't so bad! These are just my experiences. Everyone is different. But I can guarantee that you wouldn't regret joining this amazing platform!
If you are interested in writing for Odyssey, you can request an invite to join a community here.
