This January will be a year since I started writing for Odyssey—it's hard to believe! Unfortunately, I'm having to take a break from it before that year mark comes up, seeing as I'm heading to Spain to study abroad. I would like to return as a writer, or perhaps even editor, when I get back.

I know Odyssey can get a bad rep, or seem like a joke to some since the quality of topics and writing can be on the shallow or simplistic end, or because some view the writers as not having any true ethos or credibility. I for one, have appreciated this opportunity to just have the freedom to write without many boundaries, and there are not many places ecstatic about hearing the "already loud" voice of millennials, so for a new writer like me with little professional experience, this was a dream.

Having the deadline for an article every week also made me have to become accustomed to writing often. Expressing myself well comes to me naturally, but putting together the words in a short amount of time while not correcting and overcorrecting, again and again, unable to be satisfied with the words flowing from my mind to the page, stopped when I had to write every week.

It's true what they say. Writing every day strengthens your creative, word flow muscle. Although I may not have been doing 10 pages or 2,000 words a day like Stephen King suggests, I was still writing. More and more, I found I could sit somewhere easily and get in that place where my mind was cleared, and the words could come. Even in a public place! (Though music would help me stay on task as a type of white noise background.)

In my entrance essay and now bio for Odyssey, I mentioned how I have been writing since I could pick up a pencil, no exaggeration. Having a reason to "pick back up a pencil," so to speak, every week no matter if I had school, my internship, work or homework made me committed to a craft I have been passionate about ever since I could remember.

Odyssey has also blessed me with a platform to express my grief. And even though, as I looked back at my articles, I hoped that they weren't just filled with sadness but with life and joy, those that were darker, were the ones I needed to write. They were the words screaming to get out. They were the stories I had not yet told.

And for those of you who have followed my writings, I can't tell you how appreciative I am. Some of you have even come up to me to mention how you've enjoyed them, and I hope you realize how happy it makes me feel to know my writing is worth reading, is spreading a message worth saying, is helping or entertaining or making a difference. I can honestly say I don't know how many people do read my writings, it's an unknown unless people tell me, or interact with it.

Regardless, I am thankful. Thankful you either stumbled onto my writings, or know me and read whatever articles came out, or have just read an article here and there. Thanks for taking the time to do so. It has meant the world to me. And for the first time, I kind of have a glimpse of those long-winded, and at times, over dramatic speeches actors and actresses make about thanking their fans for letting them do what they do. So I guess this is my speech.

Thanks for letting me do what I do friends, and thank you Odyssey for onboarding me and giving me the chance to get my writing out there. I want this to be the step I take that launches me into more writing, and, for those of you that know me, please be looking for news and information on (perhaps) a blog or other means of reflection as I head to Spain in January.