We get it. You can’t bear to open up Facebook on Mondays and see a new selection of articles written by “unqualified” authors. You throw up a little bit in your mouth every time you see a new “10 Things…” or “7 Reasons Why…” and don’t even get me started on open letters. Odyssey has become the bane of your existence and you feel the need to shout it from the hilltops so no one dares to think that you actually like these articles.

For those of you that have found yourself nodding or mentally agreeing with any of these statements about Odyssey articles, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: you don’t have to read them. I’m assuming no one is sitting there holding your head to a computer screen, forcing you to read Odyssey articles, including this one, and if I’m wrong, then you should probably call the police. However, just because you aren’t physically being forced to read them, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. If you get yourself out of the stubborn mindset that every Odyssey article is uneducated, immaterial garbage, then you might just see that some of us have important things to say.

Here’s the thing… Sure, Odyssey writers aren’t all college-educated journalists, but do any of us claim to be? No. Odyssey was created to give young people a platform to voice their opinion on anything and everything. Sure, along the way you will get some trivial articles, but you can’t expect a meaningful analysis of the world each week (and face it, some of the best articles are “listicles”). Odyssey allows millennials to write for something other than a grade. We aren’t under strict guidelines that eliminate potential for practically all creativity, and we aren’t repeatedly catering to the wants and demands of a one-person audience. Writing for Odyssey has challenged me to really self-reflect and articulate my jumbles of thoughts into a coherent article. I have had to solidify my opinions and beliefs, and in doing so, I have discovered more about myself than I ever imagined I would.

So if I had to ask one thing of all of you “Odyssey-haters” it would be this: give it a try. Instead of scrolling past every article you see with an eye roll and the assumption that you have saved yourself from the guaranteed misery that is reading yet another Odyssey article authored by yet another privileged white kid with an invalid opinion, just read it. Maybe you’ll feel the same way afterwards; maybe you’ll have stumbled upon a thought-provoking piece that might just change your outlook on the world. If you find that you have not, and will never, have a change of heart, that’s fine, too; all I ask is that please follow that little rule adults have pounded into children’s brains for decades: if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

There is a difference between polite disagreement and plain old hate. If you read something and you disagree, by all means, let us know. We like discussion and debate, that’s what Odyssey is for! But if that constructive criticism escalates to mean, nasty comments, it is no longer acceptable. I have said it in previous articles, and I will say it again: behind every Odyssey article is a young writer, trying to express his or her view on something. Age is something that we cannot control, and our opinions should certainly not be discredited because of it. Sure, millennials may not have a lot of life experience relative to older generations, but we still have something to say, and Odyssey gives us a voice to say it.