Whenever someone reads my writing, I always preface it with “I’m not very happy with it” or “This is a rough…rough draft.” I’ve always gotten decent scores on my writing in school, but I’ve never been super proud of how I write, and I’ve definitely been self-conscious of it. The thought of my teachers or professors reading and grading my papers makes me cringe and for as long as I can remember, I can’t stand to physically watch people read what I’ve written.

An essay is supposed to be the best of the best. It’s your thought process, but written in a cohesive, thought-provoking way. I’m not an eloquent talker, but that’s okay when it's spoken. It’s not okay with the written word, and my ineloquent speaking patterns don’t translate into beautiful written sentences, ever. There is a certain insecurity in my writing that I have never grown out of and that has always stopped me from joining journalism or yearbook in high school or ever sharing a piece of work I have written.

Odyssey is hopefully going to help me change that as I write every week and don’t have time to form my ugly sentences into perfection. Maybe I’ll even feel less self-conscious about my own writing and feel proud of the words I learn to slap on the page. And with that, hat’s off to my wonderful friend for instigating this new expedition for my (hopeful) growth.