There is a single strand of invisible, red string knotted tightly around your little finger. According to a Japanese legend, that little piece of string links you to everything you ever were and everything you'll ever be and to the people who will help mold you into the person you are going to become No matter how tangled or taught the string gets, it'll never break; you are tied to your future.

I became aware of my string in the eighth grade when my English teacher, Mrs. Brummel, told me about the myth.

Mrs. Brummel is the teacher that helped me discover my passion for writing. She encouraged me to be creative in my work and she took her time to make sure that every word and sentence that I wrote in her class conveyed what I wanted my audience to hear and to experience, even when that meant staying after school to help the boy who was eager to see if his essays and writing were impressive enough.

Little did she know, she had tied a red string around my finger; she had shaped me into a writer.

Sitting in her classroom as an awkward, quiet eighth grader, I would have never thought that I would receive an e-mail before my junior year of college asking if I was interested in a position with Odyssey or that a few months later I would be sending e-mails out to a team of writers that I got to hire as Editor-in-Chief and laying the groundwork for a new publication on Winthrop's campus.

While the string that she had tied around my finger had become tangled and knotted more than a few times, it has guided me to the person I want to become and to the people and things that are going to help me get there.

I don't know where I would be if Mrs. Brummel hadn't instilled a love for writing in me and if she hadn't tied my red string around my finger that led me to Odyssey.

Odyssey is helping me become a more responsible person, a better leader, and most importantly a better writer and I'm happy to be sharing this experience with a great team who are developing skills and portfolios that are tremendously helpful.

Your red string may possibly lead you to Odyssey. If you're passionate about a subject or if you think you could provide a unique perspective on things. We'd be happy to have you on our staff and to provide you a platform to voice your opinions.

In this week's edition of Odyssey we take a peek into what paths you red string can lead you down. Whether that be to a fulfilling (or unfulfilling) online relationship, a battle with depression, the struggles of a Winthrop student or of the college student who doesn't know what to do after graduation and much more.

So here's to you, Mrs. Brummel, thanks for shaping me into the person that I am today. Thank you for tying the red string of destiny around my finger that has shown me my future. You'll never know how much it's meant to me.