I have only been writing for Odyssey since the middle of March, but it has already proved to be one of my favorite hobbies. I had no idea this opportunity was open to anyone -- I always thought it was just professional journalists or writers. I learned about the opportunity when a friend of mine announced her position on Facebook. I looked into it, found the application, and decided to apply. I’ve always enjoyed writing for English classes, especially on assignments geared toward creativity and personal interest, but it always amazed me that someone could come up with idea after idea for their articles. This is only my fifth week, and I feel like I’m already running out of ideas, but a topic always pops into my head and ends up working out.
Writing for Odyssey was a huge step out of my comfort zone. I haven’t really found a club or organization I’m passionate about at school, and it took me a while to make friends, too. I was really nervous to start doing it, but I’m so glad I did. I never liked letting people read my papers because I was so nervous of their opinions, but it feels really good to know your audience is enjoying your work. I’ve always had a desire to write a book, not because I know how to do it or have any idea of what I would write about, but because it would be a cool and fun experience. If I ever decide to pursue that, I know my experience with Odyssey will do nothing but help.
Like I said before, coming up with ideas seems difficult, at least for me. So whenever I get an idea that might be a good for an article, I write it down on my iPhone Notepad and brainstorm if I can. I usually just keep these as backups so I will always have something to write about, but I add to it pretty often. Sometimes doing this puts more ideas in my head, so one idea may turn into four. You’d be surprised the things you’ll think about as you’re walking through a college campus. There’s always something going on or something to catch your interest.
That’s another thing that’s cool about Odyssey -- you can write about whatever you want. I know you’ve seen articles like “15 Times 'Grey’s Anatomy' Described Your Life” or “An Open Letter To ___,” but did you know you can write about politics? Or healthy diets? If you’ve traveled a lot, you could share all the best tricks you learned or what to do in each country. If you love to follow celebrity lives, you could talk about the newest drama going on or give a recap of the fashion at the Grammys. It’s entirely up to you.
If it seems like I’m just giving you a bunch of random information about Odyssey, you’re right. I am. But it’s only so you’ll know that this opportunity is open to anyone. If you like writing, or if you even think you might, I encourage you to check it out. Because as you can see, it’s pretty cool.
