Dear Odyssey,
When I first joined your team, alongside thousands of other college writers, I expected to utilize you as an outlet for me to hopefully get my voice heard. I was anticipating a few clever articles here and there, a couple of likes, a handful of shares -- and maybe -- an introspective, come-to-Jesus moment that Odyssey writers seem to so frequently have.
However, you’ve given me so much more than that.
In the course of this school year, my Odyssey articles have become more than a weekly addition to my writing portfolio.
Being a writer for Odyssey has made me vulnerable, a characteristic that I, as well as many others, am not always eager to admit. However, my writing career pre-Odyssey never allowed me to utilize my content in such an unapologetically communal way. Sharing poems in poetry class or short stories in a creative writing course does not bear the same weight as posting weekly articles under my name to everyone I know. In this domain, it doesn’t matter whether I’m friends on Facebook with people because I graduated high school with them, celebrate Christmases with them, have blood relations to them or sit next to them in class. Whether they look at my profile as a best friend, relative or classmate, I’m exposing myself to all of them in the same way. So, thank you.
Writing for Odyssey has given me the chance to write open letters in a public domain. These letters contain confessions, feelings, truths and experiences that I wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to share. These letters not only resonate directly with whomever they are addressed to, but also have significance to others with similar perspectives. The “Open Letter To…” format doesn’t only matter to me, but oftentimes, also helps other readers more clearly communicate or understand their same opinions. So thank you.
My articles have provided my peers and me with something to laugh at when we need a study break and some GIFs to get us by. They’ve allowed me to reflect on experiences I would have never otherwise reflected. Being a writer for such a platform has made me keener on observing the people and events around me. Working for Odyssey has given me a roaring and active voice towards social issues as opposed to a lost whisper.
I am so thankful that you have given me, a 20-year-old college student, confirmation that my thoughts and opinions matter. Any millennial can tell you how difficult that verification can be to come by. Before Odyssey, I didn’t perceive my words as anything more than a reflection of my own thoughts. However, receiving consistent feedback in the form of comments, likes and shares on my articles is firsthand confirmation to me that not only do my words matter personally, but also resonate with others.
Thank you for your support. Being jaded by the many adults who tell us that our voices don’t matter are softened on the mornings when I wake up and see that overnight, my recently published article has gone from several to thousands of shares.
Odyssey has given me so much. It has strengthened my communication skills. It has refined my understanding of who I am. It has refined others’ understandings of who I am. It has given me insight on how others may perceive social issues. It has made me empathetic towards others’ experiences that I’ve never had to endure.
Thank you, Odyssey, for giving me and over 7,000 other millennials a new way of perceiving ourselves, each other and the world around us.
Sincerely,
One Of Many
