Explaining to people exactly what Odyssey is probably the worst part of being an Odyssey writer, if I'm being honest. Most writers just say "hey, I wrote a column on page 8," but Odyssey writers are kind of stuck in the online world, mainly on Facebook. The usual response is "oh, you write THOSE kinds of articles. That's just unprofessional."

My response to that: thank you.

I thank you because you have pointed out my exact fears of writing for Odyssey. Fortunately, I, and many other Odyssey writers, have gotten over the embarrassment of having to spam our Facebook friends and followers with sharing our articles five times a week. Of which during one of those shares, as Editor In Chief Kelly Ann pointed out, you'll share the article "all like 'ME'."

But also, Odyssey has given us the opportunity to build a portfolio to use when finding "professional" work. You can't apply and successfully get a job without proof that you have published something somewhere. Everyone starts somewhere, so stop shaming us for choosing an online publisher to build a portfolio.

Many people don't realize that we choose what we write about. Employers want to see diversity in one's writing, that they're not a one-trick pony. By writing some headline pieces about global issues while also writing album reviews or DIY articles, we are giving our portfolios more variety and displaying different styles.

After reaching out to a few veteran Odyssey writers, I realized that we're all tired of hearing the same things and being characterized under the same stereotypes as click bait writers.

Editor In Chief Austin is part of the small number of male writers for Odyssey. He says "as a male Odyssey writer, you're automatically labeled as gay. But as an Odyssey writer, you are deeply saddened by the fallacy of "gay" as an insult as well as the inaccuracy of said stereotype." In a world that is challenging equality for both sexes, this shows that it isn't a one sided battle.

Another Editor In Chief, Jennifer, says friends of hers have compared her to Taylor Swift's music writing. "I've gotten a few 'don't date her because she'll write about!' remarks," she says, which is not uncommon. Fellow Editor In Chief Sara agrees, mentions that she also has friends who say "'I want to tell you this gossip [about] my life, but you might turn it into an article'." Jennifer's response: laugh it off. "I honestly think it's funny, and yeah, I write about my life experiences. You should be honored if you mean that much to me that I'll spend time to write about you."

A Public Service Announcement: it's not always a bad thing to be mentioned in an article.

I've written plenty of pieces that included close friends of mine, and they were quite flattered and happy to be part of something so unique.

Jennifer seems to agree. "If I have a connection with someone, I'd hope that they recognize that life is all about experiences and learning from them so [by sharing it with others] they would be okay with it. If they don't think like this, well, then, I'm definitely not wasting my time on them."

All in all, we're not all cardboard, cookie-cutter perfect. We're not all just freelancing it. We're all writing something different in hopes that one of you will feel a little better about your experiences in the world we live in.

Writers will always get shit for what they do or don't do, but I hope this explanation gives you further insight. We are not just 'writers' –we're Odyssey writers.