Why I Left Odyssey and Why I Have Returned to Writing
Having mental health issues, taking twelve-fifteen credit hours a semester, working two to three jobs consistently, being the president of a non-profit organization, and a sister in a service sorority while also attempting to be a good daughter, girlfriend, and friend was difficult for me.
Before everyone sees a random Odyssey article from me about a topic like meditation or body acceptance, I wanted write a bit about why I left Odyssey in the first place.
If you all remember right, I did write for Odyssey the summer between my junior and senior year at Eastern Michigan University. Writing and singing are two of my favorite outlets and when I learned about Odyssey in the spring of 2018, I had to join and get my feelings out in the world.
If you were not aware, I recently graduated with my bachelor's of science in psychology from Eastern Michigan University. I loved going to EMU; I met many great people, joined great organizations, and had an amazing job. My experience was one I will forever cherish.
But I have mental health problems... more than one that is. Having mental health issues, taking twelve-to-fifteen credit hours a semester, working two to three jobs consistently, being the president of a non-profit organization, and a sister in a service sorority while also attempting to be a good daughter, girlfriend, and friend was difficult for me to balance.
I attempted to write articles the first semester of my senior year at EMU; however, it was difficult to meet deadlines for Odyssey when I sometimes could not get out of bed in the morning. So in the middle of the fall of 2018, after much thought, I decided to leave Odyssey.
Throughout my first few years of college, I tried to ignore my mental health issues. I wanted to pretend I did not have any. Unfortunately for me, my issues caught up with me and I could not ignore them throughout my junior and senior year.
Now that I have graduated, and am taking a year off from school before I begin a master's program (hopefully at EMU), I need more positive outlets to fill my time. For the first time in my life, I am taking my mental health seriously and coming back to Odyssey is a great step. I am also going to therapy regularly, meditating daily, and working out four-to-five times a week.
The content I wrote when I first joined Odyssey was often surface level discussions or opinions because I was too afraid to dig deep and talk about my issues. After a decent amount of personal growth and trauma, I am not ashamed to tell you about the issues that plague me. As a future behavioral therapist, I want people to feel comfortable discussing mental health and serious topics.
I will be writing about my issues with my eating disorder, anxiety, depression, and OCD. I also want to discuss vegetarianism, animal rights, body confidence, and meditation. I hope to be able to help at least one person through these writings.
With the rise of social media in this modern day society, whether or not I like it, my life is public more now than ever. If I am going to share about my issues and discuss topics with this platform, I want them to be meaningful. Not just meaningful to me, but to everyone who clicks on my articles.
