I joined Odyssey in the middle of my senior year of high school.

At that point, I wanted to go to college and study journalism and I wanted to use it as a way to build a portfolio. Someone I went to high school with writes for the community at her university, so I was curious to see if there was a community for me since I was only in high school.

It was a pretty snap decision to join if I'm being honest.

I didn't sit down and contemplate whether or not I should do it or if I could commit to writing every week. I just joined and to this day I'm still writing an article every single week.

I remember sitting in my kitchen at home, creating my account on Slack and Trello (rest in peace) and brainstorming a bunch of article ideas. I remember being terrified and thinking that I was never going to be able to come up with a whole new idea every week and write about it on time.

A week later, I submitted my first article the same day that I got my acceptance letter for Hofstra, the school that I'm now writing this article from.

Life's weird, but I honestly don't know where I'd be without this platform and my community. Submitting every week is just another part of my life, but I love sitting down and writing my articles.

It was weird being held accountable every week, and it was honestly hard to find time for it every week. There were times where I heavily considered quitting because writer's block sometimes makes me feel like I'm dying.

Here I am a year later, and I'm so happy I'm here right now. I'm a content creator and social media director for the best community on this platform (although I'm definitely biased).

I love having my community, editors and presidents behind me in everything I do. No matter what, I know that I can go to them with anything whether it be article related or life-related and they'll be there.

They've always encouraged me to be a better writer and just person in general, plus I appreciate being held accountable for everything. If I didn't have them telling me what to do and making sure I submit every week, I honestly have no idea what would happen.

Watching this community grow and change as much as it has in the past year has been an honor, and I can't wait to watch it grow and change even further.

This community has been there for me through so much in the past year, and I can't really describe how much that truly means to me.

To my Odyssey family, thank you. You all mean more to me than you'll ever know.