What do I have that is worth reading?
Does anyone care about my opinions?
What makes my analyses, my conclusions meaningful?
Do I have ideas that could be not only successful but significant?

These are the questions that held me back from putting in an application to the Odyssey Online. These are the questions that kept me standing on the sidelines while my peers were heard. This is why I pondered my application for a year and a half.

I found my answer, oddly enough, in the Odyssey Editorial Handbook. We all have what they call a "hyperlocal viewpoint." Our unique innate self-combines with our individual environment and set of experiences to create an outlook unlike anyone else's. It is this perspective that has the power to challenge, affirm, and intrigue the minds of readers. This is something I have, and it's something you have.

I have something worth saying because I've been somewhere you haven't been, just like you've been somewhere I haven't. I've seen things, heard things, and done things that are completely exclusive to myself. My analysis of a situation is meaningful because I might be able to see a side of it that you don't, and you can likewise enlighten me to what I have missed. My voice combines with yours to create the meta-narrative of our generation. There is no complete argument without all sides. There is no collective story without our input.

You have the power to brighten someone's day. You can change an opinion, or validate it. You can renew someone's motivation, spur them to action for a cause, or help pick them up off the floor. You have the power to say something in a way that no one else can, and when you do that, you could potentially reach someone who would have been unreached, just when they need it.

But this power is nothing if you don't speak out. Gather your thoughts, discover what you truly believe, put it into words, and share it with others. Decide that this is true, that you do have something important to say, that others can be better because of you, and don't wait a year and a half like I did, turning it over in your head. Boldly take a step forward, whether it is by starting your own blog, applying for the Odyssey yourself, or simply sharing your heart on Facebook. Be brave, speak the truth, in everything be kind, and watch as others respond to your honesty. Watch as the voice of our generation becomes a little clearer for your input.

You have something worth reading. Celebrate your hyperlocal viewpoint, your individual ideas and experiences. Be brave, be significant, and make a change.