Having the ability to write is an interesting gift. I’d say it’s partly a talent, and partly what you can be taught. Writing isn’t a one-way street though, because anything you publish is going to have readers, and they’re going to judge your work. It’s an intimate connection between you and your ability, and your readers. What you chose to write about, the way you get your point across, and the way your viewers receive that message. That’s the science of writing, in my opinion.
So, today I saw an article called "An Open Letter to the Odyssey Online" with the sub-headline reading, “Holy shit, your site is bad. Please stop.” The above thought is immediately what crossed my mind. How can you label an entire site as bad when it’s tailored to the individualistic experience that is known as writing?
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So, this article claims that most people who write for Odyssey are “early 20’s, white, privileged college students.” Let’s break this argument down.
All writers come from the same background
Sure, Odyssey is tailored to college kids looking to get their writing or skills as an editor out there. I can’t deny that, that’s what the site was made for, and I think it’s a genius idea. I’ve always loved to write, but it’s always been something only I knew. I wrote in a notebook that only I saw, I didn’t have a blog, I wasn’t confident in my abilities as a writer and I never dreamed I’d have the courage to write articles every week and share them on Facebook with all of my friends, family, and even former teachers or mentors in my life.
Some writers for Odyssey may have always known they would write, they may be majoring in journalism and seeking to make a career out of writing. Others may simply do it as a hobby. The majority of us might be college kids, but I guarantee our writing experiences that led us to the point of writing for Odyssey are extremely unique.
When applying for Odyssey, my editor for the NC State Odyssey community asked me for two pieces of writing that I felt best captured my style. Keywords:my style. All writers have their own unique talents; some prefer to cover breaking news, and some seek to provide advice or suggestions on how to improve your life. No two writers are the same, and no two writers have the same interests. We might be college kids, but I guarantee that, regardless of that fact, no two of us write the same or came to enjoy writing about the same topics the same way.
White Privilege?
This claim just doesn’t make sense to me. First of all, I’m not white. I’m half white, half black, and proud of that. All Odyssey writers don’t support Donald Trump (I definitely don’t), we’re not all against tuition-free college either. It claims we all, or most of us, complain about minuscule things in the midst of other issues.
While the article does claim that there are a few writers who break the mold, they author is missing the idea of the site as a whole. The site is made up of a group of individual writers. It’s an outlet where we can all come together because we enjoy writing, but besides that we are as different as can be. We’re diverse; we go to different schools and had different upbringings. Of course we’re going to have different opinions. Although some writers for the site may support Donald Trump or be against tuition-free college, that doesn’t mean Odyssey as a whole is a site that endorses these view points. It’s just an outlet affiliated with the individual writer, and maybe somewhat with their campus if you’re looking large-scale.
Stop generalizing writers
I’m grateful to Odyssey for providing me with an outlet for my writing. I like being able to share my ability with my peers, friends, and family on Facebook. They all know it is me writing the articles every week, and if they like my work they give me the credit for it, not Odyssey. I’m grateful for the opportunity Odyssey has provided me, and I know what it is and is not about. Anyone with the ability to write can be given the same opportunity, no matter your nationality or political affiliations, but if that is what you enjoy writing about and choose to publish articles about, that’s just it, it’s your choice.
The only thing similar about writers for Odyssey is that we enjoy writing, and that we are given an outlet to write articles about whatever we want. We can step out of our comfort zone and try writing an article about a topic we normally wouldn’t, or we can write about what we know best. Either way, writing is an intimate experience between the writer and their viewers, and those two things will always vary. Judge a writer based on their work, not Odyssey for providing an outlet for college students passionate about writing.
