I don't know what it is about writing that draws me in. Maybe it's the freedom to say whatever I want, or the relief I feel after spilling thoughts out of my head. Whatever it is, I love it. My name is Kaitlyn Tipton, and I have been writing for several years. I'm an avid reader, a black belt in Tang Soo Do, a dancer, and a cheerleader; however, most importantly, I am a writer. My cousin and I used to write short stories, and I have written articles, essays, and stories for school and my school's yearbook. I have never shared anything I've written with anyone outside of my close knit group of friends, so this is a bit scary. I learned about The Odyssey through a friend of mine who writes content of her own. She inspired me to take a chance and try something new, so here I am! I'm excited for this new opportunity and look forward to sharing my writing, even though it scares me. Of course, everyone has different things that frightens them; in fact people have multiple fears. For instance, some of mine are being alone in big crowds, spiders, heights and failure. Obviously these things can hold me back. But here's the thing: those only control me if I let them. So this is me breaking the fear of failure by trying to do something with my writing. Sure it's a small step, but one day it'll be worth it. After all, taking chances are a big part of life; "you never know unless you try".