As I scrolled through Facebook one night, the platform where most Odyssey articles are shared, my heart dropped and I was shocked at some of the things I was reading about Odyssey. My beloved safe space, where I am free to write whatever I want, whenever I want, was being bashed by many people. Some comments I read on articles shared said some things like, “Odyssey is not credible at all and it’s just a bunch of garbage” and I’ve heard people say, “No one ever reads them anyway and you don’t get paid, why do you write for it?” Those words hurt my feelings, and I can give a long list of reasons why.

First of all, my Little in my sorority is the Editor-in-Chief, and she works tirelessly editing 12-plus articles per week all while writing her own, while the rest of us find time in our busy schedules to write a piece that hopefully catches the attention of our audience. All of us are full-time students, are in multiple leadership positions in our organizations and work. While we do get a small monetary reward if our article is shared the most at our school, and we get paid for a certain amount of pageviews, typically we are not getting paid. We write because we love it. We are passionate about what we are talking about. We don’t need anyone saying that our information “isn’t credible” because it’s just our opinion. We are not writing peer reviewed journals for Harvard University. We are writing about things on our mind that week. It’s an escape from the reality that is homework, tests, work, friend and family drama and the overall struggle of being a college student. My articles are mine, and no one else’s. I can express myself however I want, and that’s a pretty neat feeling. No other blogging site can offer me incentives and a way of organizing my thoughts in a professional way while allowing me to literally write whatever I want.

With that being said, something also kind of hurt my feelings when I wrote a successful piece on the reasons why I love the town I live in. In my article, I included 10 places that I thought people should visit in my town of Denton, Texas and why I loved them. While I got so much positive feedback that I truly appreciated, I also got several comments like “I don’t see why so and so wasn’t included,” or, “I’ve never heard of that place. This girl didn’t include any of the good spots I would have listed.” To that, I would say, “Why don’t you write for Odyssey then?!” We are always looking to build our team! In addition, don’t bash what we write about. It’s totally cool to comment and offer your opinions, but don’t act like whatever we talk about is the be-all, end-all. Like I said, it’s just our opinion, and we are not professionals - just college students who like to write and want to gain experience. Most people who write for Odyssey want to get into the journalism field, and this is just practice for that. Instead of criticizing our work, build us up and give constructive criticism, inspiring those who want to take this writing thing further to keep writing and do what they love.

For those who say that no one reads them, maybe you should look at the numbers. Multiple times, members of my team, myself included, have gotten over 1,000 shares and even more page views. We are part of something that is becoming huge, and it’s awesome to see it growing and gaining momentum. People are reading what we throw out to the world. And even if they are not, or a certain article doesn’t do well one week, we are writing for ourselves more than anything. If I write an unsuccessful piece but I feel deep down I did my best portraying how I feel about that topic, then nothing else should matter. I did my best, got my point across, and it’s up to the world if they want to read my opinion on something, whether they agree with it or not. And it’s okay if they don’t agree with it. That’s the beauty of writing and journalism.

I am horrible with my words, and often express my feelings through writing. When I have an issue with something, or want to express how I feel, I write. I write when I’m bored, sad, happy and anything in between. I write because I love it, and that’s my communication style. So if just one person gets something out of one of my articles, or I get through to just one person, that’s all that matters. I thank Odyssey for allowing me to be able to express myself in a way I was never able to before. Some may say writing for Odyssey is not worth it, but to my fellow writers, and myself, it’s our haven. So think twice, and please don’t bash on something that means so much to us.