I first heard about this internship with Odyssey from my best friend. She had recently been given the opportunity to join the team and thought I would also like to join. I went through the process of becoming a creator for Odyssey without mentioning it to anyone other than the friend who had referred me. But let me tell you, I was PUMPED. I had already started a list of 4 or 5 possible article concepts before that first phone call with the president of my community.

As soon as I was told I was accepted, I announced the news to my mom. She seemed a bit confused but was happy that I was happy. In fact, everyone I told kept asking me why I was doing it and seemed confused by my decision to suddenly start writing articles for this platform.

In order to understand their confusion, you should know a bit about me. I'm an Exercise Physiology major who plans to go to Physical Therapy school and creative writing has absolutely nothing to do with everything else in my life. So naturally, the people in my life were initially confused by my eagerness to write these articles every week. Especially since this is an unpaid internship. Granted, I haven't done a great job of explaining myself either. When asked why I'm doing this I usually respond with a quick "because I can" because it's kind of a lot to explain and it's hard to get my point across in conversation.

But the real reason I write for Odyssey goes much deeper than that.

First and foremost, I write for Odyssey because I actually really like creative writing. I like being able to take the story wherever I want to and being able to formulate something that isn't a cookie cutter essay. And, yeah, I could write for myself and just show it to people I know but what's the fun in that? When you're really proud of something you want to share it! You want other people to see it and to have their own take on your work!

That brings me to my next point. This platform gives me a voice. Even if only 30 people view my article that week, that's still 30 people that I've shared an idea or opinion or story with. And I try to write positive content. I'm not here to bash anyone or put more negativity and if even one person gains something from one of my articles, then I'll feel accomplished.

Lastly, I write for Odyssey because I can and because I want to. As a young adult, your life is so focused on what you could be doing to better your future. Every time you do something that little voice in the back of your mind goes "is this going to help you out in two years." Writing for Odyssey is something that doesn't relate to my career field in any way, shape, or form.

It's probably not going to help me get into PT school, it's not making me money, it's not giving me class credit, and it's not required. But I WANT to. I LIKE to write, so why not? Sometimes it's nice to do something just because you can. The benefits of every activity you participate in don't have to be tangible or easy for everyone else to understand.

I'm incredibly thankful for the opportunity I've been given and while it can be a challenge to come up with a creative and original article every week. I welcome the challenge and the confused, but supportive smiles of my family and friends.