When I started writing for Odyssey in December, I didn't expect anybody to read my articles. I was excited to write about something new each week but didn't think anybody else would be interested in reading my posts.

I feared that people wouldn't be interested in what I wrote about or just wouldn't want to read my posts. I always write about something significant or important to me, so I didn't know how other people would receive this information.

To my surprise after just a few posts, my friends were messaging me and telling me that they read and enjoyed my post each week. Receiving these encouraging texts was really meaningful to me because I didn't have any idea that people would even want to read what I wrote.

When I went home over winter break, I attended my high school's young alumni visiting day. While I was there, a couple of people came up to me and said they read my posts. I have never participated in something like Odyssey, so hearing people in person tell me they read all my posts was incredibly heartwarming.

In addition to this visit, people have been very supportive when I have an idea and want to feature them in my post. When I wrote my post on "18 Quotes That Celebrate Womanhood, Featuring 18 Important Women In My Life" all the girls I featured expressed their support for me and my future in writing.

I joined Odyssey because I love to write and would like to pursue a career in writing in the future. I ultimately want to become an author, and a lot of pressure comes from wondering if people are going to like what you write. However, taking the first step in this process by sharing what I'm passionate about through an online platform has helped me gain confidence in working towards sharing my fiction with others.

Sharing what you write is a challenging thing to do for some people. Even though I have become familiar with the peer review process in various creative writing classes, I still experience nerves and anxiety when it's time to talk about what I wrote.

I'm an aspiring writer, so everybody that takes the time to read my posts plays a huge role in getting me to this goal. Since joining Odyssey, I have grown in my writing skills, made writing a major part of my daily routine, and felt more comfortable sharing my writing with others.

I always write about things that have significance to me, and it's amazing that many people can read and enjoy what I wrote. I am incredibly fortunate and grateful for the fact that a few of my posts have gained pageviews over 500.

I typically don't focus on how many people read my posts, but when one of my posts does well in pageviews or gets shared on social media, I feel even more confident in my writing. Sure, I feel a little disappointment when a post I thought would do well doesn't receive a lot of attention, but it never deters me from writing.

Odyssey has been an amazing platform where I can expand on my writing skills while writing about whatever I want. The support I have gained from my friends, family, and Temple's Odyssey community has been overwhelming, and I couldn't be happier.

And thank you to you, reading this post, I couldn't have done this without your continued support!