Life is undoubtedly an odyssey in itself. My journey, like many, has had its sets of successes and failures. However, it seems to be a part of human nature to gloss over smaller aspects of life and only highlight the pictures worthy of an Instagram post or a Facebook update. Our modern culture demands us to constantly consider what we post. We disregard our own emotions, thoughts, and stream of consciousness to find this idea of happiness we envision ourselves living yet rarely achieve.
I have realized I have fallen victim to the constant numb of routine. Life for me is about consistency. I often do the same activities the every week, eat at the same places, and talk to the same people. After having my own anagnorisis, I have come to the conclusion that something needed to change. This is what lead me to join the creative team at Odyssey Online.
Writing has always been an outlet for me, a space to explore and test out new ideas. At this point in my career, writing has disappeared from my daily activities and the freedom and expression that I had been taught to cherish has instead been replaced by busy work and memorization. As a busy student, I didn’t realize how much of an impact writing had on me. Though I had been mainly writing literary criticism the blank canvas of a Word Document allowed my imagination run wild.
“You can write about whatever you like”
As I first became interested in the Odyssey this phrase inspired me. Countless lists of things I loved, I hated and I never thought bothered me dashed across my mind in the following days after my initial thought of joining the team. Things I've been meaning to deal with, truly critically thinking about, began to become options for article topics. Choosing what to write about provided me a freedom I thought I would never see again.
Emotions are hard. They aren’t easy to experience and I often push them away. Journaling has always been an option to confront that but there’s something that held me back from it. My Five Year Journal sits on my desk with a grand total of three entries. There are days when I think I should pick up the pen and write an entry but something distracts me and I never get around to it. Excuses, I’ll admit I’m great at procrastination.
The Odyssey keeps me accountable. I have articles to write and people relying on me to complete them. There is no pushing them away when I’m feeling lazy or unprepared to confront what I’m feeling about a topic. This is a decision for my progress, as a person who no longer wants to avoid what I’m feeling. This is for me.
As I enter this journey I have a few goals for myself. I want to write about what I love. I want to write about what annoys me. I want to write about what hurts me. I want to write about what I want to learn. But most importantly I want to write about what I want to write about.
