Being a part of Odyssey means being part of a group of people who have some of the same interests as you. Most of us at Odyssey have a love, passion, appreciation, or some other kind of positive feeling toward writing in general. Some of us are passionate about creative writing and writing about our experiences or thoughts. Some of us are passionate about journalism or reporting and making sure our sides of the stories are shared as well as what the media shows us. Some of us just write to write. And with the recent updates to Odyssey, some of us are here to create videos for the same reasons others are creating articles. But no matter why we're doing this, we're all doing it together.
Being a part of Odyssey means being around people who are motivated and creative. Anyone can join Odyssey and we encourage everyone to at least give it a try. But not everyone stays and that's okay, too. We have people with ideas and opinions that offer to help and support each other and help us think of things we normally wouldn't on our own. We learn to push our boundaries and be more open to our creative sides because we're all doing that together in one way or another.
Being a part of Odyssey means getting to know your peers in a more intimate way. It takes something special inside a person for them to feel comfortable enough to post their thoughts, opinions, and personal stories or experiences online for the world to see. We get to know each other better by reading or watching other creators' work. And with that, we learn more about that person than what you would get out of a brief conversation. We get to see a glimpse inside that person's head and it's always beautiful in some way.
Being a part of Odyssey means being part of a team. Our team members are helpful, kind, supportive, and encouraging. Especially our team at Adrian College, we like to offer as much help and support to our teammates as possible. We have fun and hang out together. We offer help and ideas when someone is stuck on a topic or can't think of a topic. We offer comedic relief and a place to get away from everything that stresses us out in our daily lives. We're a fun group of people, and from getting to know creators from other communities I can proudly say that most teams are just like this, too.
Being a part of Odyssey means being part of a family. I've been lucky enough to work with three different Assistant Managing Editors during my time as Editor in Chief and all three have been overwhelmingly kind and caring. They take the time to get to know us as people, not just someone they manage. They have normal conversations with us that are not work-related and let us get to know them in return. My original AME got promoted and works with different people now so we hardly ever see or hear from each other, but she still remembers who I am and where I go to school and other things we talked about a year ago. My current AME is the same way and it makes being a part of Odyssey just that much better because I know that these people love what they do and truly want the best for us both with Odyssey and in our lives.
Being a part of Odyssey means being yourself while being a part of something insanely fun and rewarding. I never could have thought that the experience I got from Odyssey would be what it has turned out to be. I honestly never thought it would be actually fun and that I would get to meet and get to know some really incredible people. I joined Odyssey so I could put an extra title on my resume, but I've stayed because I love it.
For those of you who aren't aware of this truly awesome day, Galentine’s Day was coined by superwoman Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation.
