As my journey with The Odyssey Online is coming to a close, it seemed like a good idea to end it with a letter (the same way I began). I started writing because I wanted to spread positivity in a way where it could actually reach. The Odyssey took my voice and spread it. It gave my voice volume and distance in a way that I couldn't have done myself. So, without further ado, here is my last article.
To The Odyssey,
It's been a good ride, hasn't it? I haven't written for you for too extremely long, but in the past six months, I have learned much. I have learned how to become a better writer, a better communicator, and even a better thinker. Through you, I have grown my voice, my means of expressing myself, and definitely my time-management skills (more or less).
It wasn't all smooth, though, was it? I wasn't always great at creating new ideas or stopping myself from writing about the same three topics. I wasn't always fantastic at submitting an article before the last hour of the deadline. And frankly, sometimes I lost my motivation. Despite all that, I learned to stick through the writer's block and lulls in the number of shares my articles got. I learned to make use of the calendar app my phone has so graciously gifted me with. And I learned that even when you think that no one is listening and no one can hear you, there is always someone out there who is. It felt nice to be heard. In fact, it felt empowering. On the loneliest days when I felt like positivity was so out of reach, I would stretch further to find it -- even just in hopes of gifting my readers with it. And although I will no longer be writing for you, I will not stop visiting your page or reading others' articles.
Writing for The Odyssey was almost like writing entries into a journal or diary. Only, this "diary" was going to be published and anyone in the world could access and read it. There was something scary yet sort of exhilarating about opening up yet staying hidden. There was something complex about letting people I might not even know into certain parts of me yet keeping them out of others. That is an experience I wouldn't have gotten had I not spent time writing for you.
So as this final article as well as my time writing for you comes to a close, I'd like to say just one last thing. Thank you for the opportunity you gave me to spread my thoughts on a scale I never could have imagined possible. Back in high school, while taking Writer's Workshop classes, I never would have guessed that as a freshman in college, my thoughts and my words would be reaching thousands of people. And that is an experience I will not forget.
Thank you and with much love,
