Throughout the majority of my first year of college, I felt like I was missing a little something. School was great and I was well adjusted to all the major changes in my life, but I was trying to resolve a need within me that wasn’t being met with the extracurriculars I was already participating in. Then I heard about an opportunity to write for ‘The Odyssey’ as the editors of the site were looking for some new writers at UCONN. I had always enjoyed reading the articles online, the ones that pop up on your Facebook feed and seem to accurately capture your feelings on a certain subject so much that you just need to share it because of the preciseness. I figured I would give it a shot because I had always had a strong voice and enjoyed sharing my opinions, and thought it would be a great chance to express myself on a greater platform, and I have loved it ever since.
Writing for the Odyssey is not something to be taken lightly. It is work, it is commitment, and many of the authors of the articles posted take their work very seriously. Of course there are a few bad apples here and there, those writers that don’t have a strength with prose, or carelessly subject readers to opinions with little depth or understanding of pressing issues. But then again- the Odyssey also creates conversation. This platform allows room for differing opinions, it sparks debate, and inspires others. It can be used to spread awareness and knowledge that few other blogs do because of its variety of authors coming from different backgrounds.
Writing for the Odyssey has taught so much in the few short months that I have been with the team. I have developed a stronger voice, expanded my vocabulary, learned to back up opinions with facts, and found my sense of humor in writing. I have learned timeliness, as all articles are due by a certain day and time, beaten writers block a thousand times over, and now have a wonderful addition to my growing resume. It definitely comes with challenges don’t get me wrong- frustration when you feel your articles aren’t being shared despite how much you loved writing them, embarrassment when you’ve found a typo after submitting for editing, and so on and so forth, but it has all been worth it to me. When parents of the friends I went to school with tell me that they’ve seen and read my articles online, and loved them- it makes me so happy to be doing what I am. When people find your article relatable, when they can get a kick out of it, you know you have accomplished your job, or having your own parents cry when they read one of the articles you’ve written about them is nice too.
So I understand if you’re one of those people who is tired of seeing us all post our articles on our social media pages week after week, and you think our opinions are nothing more than that, but give an article a read some time. Don’t discredit the entire network because of one article you didn’t enjoy, because I promise that there is an article out there for everyone.
Thank you to my team at the Odyssey for giving me a place to belong, and always supporting one another in trying to have our voices be heard. Keep on writing.
