Facebook is a wonderful glorious place where mom’s can post all about their kids’ achievements, companies can advertise their products that may or may not work, and college students can sit in bed and watch controversial and gut wrenching videos. This all is well known. Facebook also acts as a platform for so many people to get their voices out there and be heard when they may not otherwise be able to. Millions of people every hour check Facebook, and so many eyes are on the things you post.
No, this isn’t a lecture about the importance of the appropriateness of the things you post, although it surely is important kids!! Instead I wanted to write about how Facebook is the main social media platform for the Odyssey. I remember before I started writing my articles, I would constantly spend time reading different heartfelt or silly articles written and tag all my friends in it. I had no idea what the Odyssey was all about.
On the website, the Odyssey describes itself as a social media platform that, “shares a chorus of millennial voices, amplified organically through people sharing with their friends. The platform empowers its thousands of creators to contribute and share what matters to them, and enables content to find its most relevant audience organically.” Having seen the articles my friends were sharing, and hearing what the website was all about, I applied hoping that my passion for writing could amplify my voice on things that matter the most to me.
I am so happy I decided to write because ever since high school I found that I had a knack for writing instead of the sciences. I thought that the Odyssey would be a perfect place to get me to write every week and be able to share my work with so many people. The problem, however, is that the Odyssey receives a lot of heat and even some people very close to me tend to speak negatively about it and I think I know why.
I wouldn’t say that the Odyssey is a news platform of any sort, although some writers choose to write about current events and things happening around the world. Instead, a lot of writers like to write lists with gifs because that is what gets the most shares. Don’t get me wrong, they can be super funny and entertaining to read, but sometimes it does frustrate me while I’m spending hours pouring my heart out in words on something I really care about. When I announced I was writing for the Odyssey, one of my closest friends said to me “not to be basic” and that I’m “not going to write stupid articles about 23 ways you can pet your dog” right? There is so much more the pieces published by the Odyssey than that.
As soon as I published my first article about my experience in Greek life, I became a little bit obsessed with how many people liked and shared my article. I found myself thinking about things I could write for the next week that people would share the most, because that’s what the Odyssey is all about right? Getting my millennial voice amplified to thousands. But what is so great about getting your voice amplified if it’s not about something you are passionate about? To me, it’s not great at all.
I soon realized that the reason why I started writing for the Odyssey wasn’t so that I could become the most shared writer in the world, but to get experience writing about things I have experienced in my own life while also trying to improve and cater my skills to a certain audience. I promised myself that I am not going to care how many shares I get on an article, because if you truly are an amazing writer people will feel strongly and enthusiastic about the things you write regardless of whether or not you wrote it to please them, to question them, to argue with them, or to interest them.
Always write from your heart and your personal experiences because that is where the best writing pieces lay.
