Last December, I signed up and started writing on Odyssey. A few months into this new weekly routine, I don’t have a lot of answers to why I signed up.
Maybe it was some super fun anxiety following my first semester at college when I paused to realize I still did not know what I was doing with my life. Maybe it was because I had just finished a resume and found it almost entirely filled with high school accolades instead of college successes. All I know is that I’m glad I signed up. Here’s why.
I grow continuously. Through this experience, I’ve been continuously doing something that scares me. Sharing something creative by choice is something I’ve rarely done. In an age of technology, I very rarely shared the more personal parts of my life, and I regret it. I regret not having any videos, proof online of my 15 years dancing. I regret not taking the time to want to get pictures taken of me or taking them last minute. I felt, and still feel, that I was not good enough to share my memories and successes.
I still feel not good enough, but this forced expression has really helped me step outside of my comfort zone. I never was the “writer” at school. But I appreciate having the opportunity to improve continuously through this experience.
I practice self-discipline and failure. Every week, I scrap at least one article completely. Continuously. Every week I have one dumb idea that I pursue writing for some time before coming into the reality of the idea, and I start all over.
Lastly, I was retaught the importance of never giving up. In a society deathly afraid of failure, taking a constant stand for anything seems worthless. But sticking through the growing pains in all aspects of your life are what build character.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not thrilled with all of my posted articles, but I’m proud of myself for posting them all, which for now is enough.
While the process of writing is stressful, receiving positive feedback is amazing. From friends who casually bring up the fact they read my articles to people telling me that it touched them, I feel more supported than I could have ever hoped for.
While summoning the courage was difficult, signing up for Odyssey is easy. I just sent in information and my email to the website. I had an incredibly short phone interview (or more like an information-gathering conversation), and I started. It was incredibly easy. The only barrier is the fact that no one really wants to do something this terrifying and challenging weekly.
That’s the best part about Odyssey so far. It reaffirmed something I already knew-- It’s not about being the best, it’s about being the one who shows up.