One of the best pieces of advice I've ever received about my writing is that there is always going to be something or someone that tries to tear you down or discourage you from ever writing again, but to not listen to a single word of it.

When I was accepted as a content writer for Odyssey, I didn't really know what to expect. I had dabbled in writing sometimes and kept a journal to channel thoughts with. I fell in love with putting my words out there for others to read and relate to. So when I decided I would try to further my writing skills by joining this network of fellow writers in college like me, I was ecstatic. Every week I get to create a new article based on my unique perspectives of life and topics and put my opinions and thoughts out there. They don't censor me about subjects or tell me what it is I have to write about every week. I have the freedom to do with my words what I see fit. It really has been one of the best things I've done while in college.

While I love Odyssey and writing for them, sometimes I get discouraged. Within our groups, we have sort of a contest every week on whose article gets the most shares. It's awesome to see your fellow writers blossom into the spotlight with articles that have over 100 shares, sometimes much more. You feel so proud that someone in your group is doing so well. But then you start to feel discouraged about never winning any of those contests, like me.

It's understandable that a website like Odyssey is based on shares. That's a lot of what social media is nowadays, content put out there to see how many shares or likes or retweets it can get. I always tell myself that it isn't the content I write, just that I like to keep my friends list clean of random people and accounts. I've set my Odyssey posts to public, so anyone can see what I've written. I share on my Facebook, Twitter, sometimes even my Pinterest page and a lot of times I share it more than once. So it's gotten to the point for me where I've started questioning on if what I write really ever speaks to anyone but me.

In a world based on shares, it gets discouraging when you can't quite seem to get to the place where you're the next trending topic. Trends come and go though, and I always try to keep my writing true to what I think is important for me to say.

Despite how many shares I get, I love to write. It's something that lets me express what I want to share with the world. And I love Odyssey for giving me the chance to do so. If you ever get a chance to write for Odyssey or any other media site, give it a chance. No matter how many shares, it's always a great feeling to write something and get it out there for the world to see.