As I was pondering ideas for an article, I began to question myself. Why was I writing in the first place?

I joined The Odyssey in January because I had a few friends in freshman year of college who would write weekly articles for The Odyssey and I would read their content every week. I really admired their courage to express their feelings and thoughts about subjects on a public platform to share with their peers on social media. Writing personal opinions and then sharing them takes a lot of courage because people will read what you write, and I thought their writing was so cool and interesting. Their courage influenced me to give personal writing a try.

And now I am here a year later, writing and pondering my reasons for my writing.

Sometimes I write to talk about a personal matter I am facing in a roundabout way. I never really reveal the true problem unless I feel comfortable sharing because some parts of my life do not need to be on the internet for everyone to read but I do like to write about my problems. I feel that maybe my personal struggle is not just personal, but that others are also experiencing this struggle and can relate to my writing and feel like they are not alone in their struggle.

Sometimes I write to feel like I am talking to my audience. I write every article in my own voice and hope that my audience can hear my voice as they read and enjoy my writing even if my writing is not always the best.

Sometimes I write for myself so I can reflect on a time period within my life. I try to write what feel at that time to reflect and publish it for my reflection to be public so others can understand what is going on in my life too.

Sometimes I write just because there are deadlines and I need to get a piece done because it is my duty. Life is full of deadlines and I try my best to stick to them.

But I realized the true reason for why I write. It's because I love it which is weird for me to write. Growing up, I never used to like writing in elementary school, middle school, high school or even sometimes in college. I do not like to forced to write a paper or essay. But I mean who does? Unless I love the topic it's a hassle. I always gravitated towards math and science because I liked knowing there was a definite right answer. This dislike for writing growing up fueled my dislike towards writing my feelings because I would avoid the process of writing because it would remind me of school and timed prompts and AP Lang.

But now I love to write because I enjoy it. I enjoy it because no one is telling me to write and I have the free will and ability to write about whatever I want whenever. Each piece of writing is like a conversation with myself where as I write I begin to learn how I truly feel about something or someone. I write to understand the thoughts in my brain and express them in hopefully a clear manner to others. As a writer for The Odyssey, I am supported by a lovely executive team and fellow writers in this community who want me to succeed which is empowering. This support and kindness make me want to write.

So I write. Five years ago I would never have pictured myself writing for fun but I am thankful that I am.

Thank you for reading this. Go write.