I joined Odyssey back in May of 2016. It's been a pleasurable experience ever since. I've had the opportunity to read a plethora of articles by young talented, passionate individuals with strong voices. There are many similarly themed articles across the platform. Writing about midterms, college classes, relationships and so on.

But there is one that I see literally every time I log on to the site, and it's kind of annoying. What is it? It's "open letters." I have no idea who started this trend or as it now seems, genre of writing. Like how many open letters can there be? And why title it an open letter. Why not give it a more creative title? An open letter to my sister, an open letter to my younger self, an open letter to my big toenail. Sheez.

I'm not saying the people writing open letters lack talent. They actually have a kind of gusto many writers do not have. Vulnerability is tough for most so being that on a public website is impressive. I commend you open letter writers. But I must say, it is a bit belabored. There are more ways to express the intricacies of your life. It's in the power of storytelling, not letter writing.

Read more, do more, be more. We are brave writers here at Odyssey. Open letters are basic.