Why write? Why publish my thoughts every week for the world to see? Why make myself so vulnerable in front of all the readers that come across my article? Why let them in my head? Why not just keep all of these thoughts to myself? Why was I doing this?

Those questions have popped up in my brain constantly over the past few weeks. I recently began writing for Odyssey and my thoughts and feelings were getting spread across the web for the world to see. Thoughts that I had often kept to myself. As I kept writing, I was unsure as if I should continue, unsure if I was cut out for this. Baring my thoughts and soul for the world to see on a weekly basis isn't something I would prefer to do, but who would?

After constant questioning of myself and why I was doing this, I came to a conclusion. I was doing this so that people reading my articles could feel like they weren't alone. People struggling with themselves, people struggling with life, people struggling with anything for that matter. They all need someone to relate to so that they could feel some sort of comfort -- comfort in that they weren't alone, that it was OK for them to be feeling the way they are feeling. Because no matter how you feel, that's perfectly OK.

Oftentimes people are told that they shouldn't feel the way they do or to feel differently. Now I'm not sure who started that trend, I'm assuming it's some control freak that didn't like the thought of people feeling differently than they did. Well, they're wrong. Everyone feels differently about everything, you're entitled that. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

So I write for those people, the people that feel as though they don't have a voice. The people that have had their voices suppressed or are too shy to bring their own feelings to the light. I write for you. I write because I needed someone to write for me when I was feeling oppressed. I didn't have that so I'm going to do that for you. So that you don't feel alone so that you don't feel like it's you against the world. Because it's not. It's me and you.

So I'll continue to write because Odyssey gave me that chance. A chance to step up and be a voice for all of those people. So thank you, Odyssey, from the bottom of my heart.