Deadlines are a huge deal in any career, and while we're in college, we are being trained to turn in our work before deadlines so we don't fall behind. But sometimes, life gets in the way, and we forget about that online quiz or the presentation we have about a research project. But the worst fear of any college student is having a paper to write and not being able to get past page one.

Being part of the Odyssey Online has been such a fun experience, but sometimes, I sit at my computer and realize life is a lot harder to write about than I had thought.

I thought it would be easy to write articles the night they were due, and be able to get thousands of shares. But, I was so, so wrong. It's hard to write about things other college students will relate to; and it's even harder to write about things when sometimes, I don't even really understand how life works in the first place.

It has taught me a lot, though. These are the three main things I learned during my first semester as a writer.

1. Not everyone will think you're funny.

I would sit on my computer laughing at the things I would write, but not everyone has the same sense of humor as me. I also realized that being funny on the internet is hard; humor does not translate well over the written word, and apparently, I'm not too good at it.

2. You'll forget about the deadline -- a lot.

Being a student and a writer for an online publication is rough. There would be weeks that I had multiple tests and projects, and finally, when I would get a moment to relax, that friendly reminder email about the article due on Sunday night was a rude wake up call.

3. You'll be proud of everything you've done.

As much as I complained about the amount of work it has taken, I now have the beginnings of a portfolio that I can be proud of, and I am technically a published writer. So that's a pretty cool feeling.

I owe The Odyssey so much for everything it has given me over the past semester, from the writer's block to the publication emails. I can't wait until next year.