I think the most difficult part about wanting to be a writer, other than writer’s block of course, is finding an appropriate avenue to first publish your work. All writer’s have to cut their teeth at one point – learning how to edit, work with a deadline, and how to come up with fresh material on a weekly basis is a difficult trifecta of skills to master. Even harder still is finding someone to take a chance on you that is okay with watching you make all of the mistakes as you get the hang of how this whole publication thing works. It’s a scary new world to most first time writers.

Enter the Odyssey – a platform that is geared towards college-aged kids with content generated by the same.

Prior to joining I had no desire to write for the Odyssey. I had all of these preconceived notions thinking that I was too good for it – that what I had to offer the writing world was so much more than a bunch of fluff pieces on sorority life. Not only was I wrong about thinking that the Odyssey was a joke, but I got a huge slap in the face as to how regimented and beneficial the Odyssey is as a whole.

Sure, it gets a little tiresome seeing a million listicles about something dealing with sorority ‘bigs’ and ‘littles’. And yes, the omnipresent “X number of reasons that something-or-other sucks as told by Friends” articles get a little old. But does that really mean that snide comments regarding people who write for the Odyssey have a place in the conversation? There are entire articles dedicated to detailing each nuance associated with their distaste for all things Odyssey. Really?

I am just as sick of seeing “An Open Letter to __” as the next guy, but I think that your hate is misplaced. These people, myself included, are just trying to figure life out. We all are, really, and this is our first step. It’s like your favorite actor who has gone on to win Oscars but starred in some really questionable movies early on in their career. I like to think that me writing for the Odyssey right now is to me what the Princess Diaries was to Anne Hathaway. Soon enough I’ll find my Les Miserables and get whatever acclaim comes along with that, but for now I’m content with exercising my writing muscles; trying to figure out my style, what I want to say, and how I wish to say it.

Really – we’re all just trying to figure our shit out. Don’t judge.