As with many people in from 2015-2018, I read Rupi Kapur's book of poems, the two most popular of them being, "Milk and Honey" and "The Sun and Her Flowers." These two books delve deep into the life of Rupi and seem to give an outlet of the reader to connect to her as the writer as well as apply the poems to their own lives.

Rupi's poems discuss in such depth the good sides of life and the happy times that we all experience as well as touches some of the deepest and darkest times in her life and that of others. She discusses her first love, discovering and embracing her femininity all the way to abuse, violence, and loss. Her way with words and poems, so short, so succinct, yet so moving, powerful, and breathtaking. It was her ability to convey a message, an emotion, an experience with every single word that she wrote down that changed my outlook on writing and poems forever and helped me to start a new journey in life.

Around this time, I began journaling and writing down my thoughts more often. Most of the time it would happen after a significant event in my life, whether it has been good or bad I wanted to write down how I was feeling so I could revisit it at a later date. This slow progression of being more in touch with my feelings whether it be when I am up at 3 AM feeling super emotional and nostalgic or after sobbing my heart out to my friends or parents about something dramatic that had just occurred in my life. Just this small act of not hating writing as much as I had previously done so, changed my outlook and helped me to become more in touch with not just myself but my surroundings as well.

When fall of 2018 I was presented with the opportunity of writing for Odyssey, my initial reaction was hesitant, I instinctively told myself that I did not have time to take on another commitment and that I should just say no. After a few days of sitting on this decision, I was honest with myself in my self-reflection realizing that I love to write and I love to write about such a wide variety of topics that maybe it would be beneficial to me to just give it a shot. That is when I joined Odyssey and it changed my life.

Joining Odyssey has forced me to consistently produce content, but it has forced me to consistently think about what is going on in my life and reflect on it. It has given me the outlet to write about some of the most difficult times in my life all the way to my favorite TV shows and why I love how ridiculous they are. Odyssey has helped me to meet new amazing writers, learn more about creating quality content and publishing, as well as a supportive community for everyone to write about whatever makes their heart's content.