I joined Odyssey as a Content Creator in June of 2016, and words couldn't even begin to explain how excited I was to join this community. I'd seen Odyssey articles floating around on my Facebook news feed, and one day I wondered Why don't I try and join? I mean, my main goal in life is to become a writer, so why wouldn't I take the plunge and apply?
Obviously, since I'm writing this, I was accepted and joined Odyssey's team here at the College of Saint Elizabeth. Only a few short months later, I received a call from my team's (amazing) Managing Editor, Danica, asking if I'd be willing to take over as Editor-In-Chief. After taking a few deep and excited breaths, I accepted the offer and, well, here I am!
I'll admit, I had a rocky start as Editor-In-Chief and ran into some trouble holding on to a decent-sized team of Content Creators. Nevertheless, we persevered and I received amazing submissions each week. This was during a time when Odyssey articles actually meant something. Odyssey's official Facebook page would share some truly thought-provoking and heartfelt pieces (with a few humorous ones thrown into the mix). Now I go to their Facebook page and see "hit articles" like, How To Know If Your Mozzarella Stick Is Actually Good or 20 Things A Girl Should Know How To Do Before She's 20. (Spoiler alert: I'm 21 and still can't, won't, or don't know how to do half the crap on those lists).
Scrolling through Odyssey's Facebook page the other week with my friend, we reached the conclusion that Odyssey has turned into a new form of Buzzfeed. If you ask me, this horrifying transformation happened when the Odyssey higher-ups got rid of a bunch of Managing Editors, including my team's beloved Danica. After that fiasco, we were sort of left hanging with no one to reach out to with any questions. At one point, they assigned us a temporary Managing Editor, but he was, well, less than helpful and disappeared after a week or so anyway. Either way, things at Odyssey HQ seem to have only gone downhill since the removal of Managing Editors.
Clearly, the days of honestly relatable articles have been replaced by clickbait title after clickbait title. Don't get me wrong - I love writing and editing for Odyssey, and I'm in no way bashing the people writing things like the previously mentioned titles. I just miss the way Odyssey used to be. At first, I was excited to add this company to my resume. Now? Not so much.
