After seeing an Odyssey article about racism within the Indian community my senior year of high school, I set a personal goal to join Odyssey once I started college. This first article I ever read made me realize the impact that words could have and how I could inspire conversation by sharing my thoughts and ideas. Sending an application to join NYU Odyssey was a simple decision, but the journey with this platform was something else.
After writing articles on a weekly basis, I was made Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of our community. Being able to cover topics like homelessness in New York, my experience with racial discrimination, going to NYU, dealing with reverse homesickness, and my take on cultural appropriation has been an incredibly fulfilling experience thus far. Odyssey gave me a way to speak about issues I found important and it gave me access to a community of creators who all had a shared passion to talk about topics which weren't given enough attention.
As EIC, I grew our team from 4 writers to 28 writers at one point, and there is no better feeling than being able to look back and say that I helped create a community with a strong foundation. Odyssey enabled me to grow as a leader, writer, and a team player. Without every one of our creators, NYU Odyssey would not be where it is today. So here is a big thank you to the national platform that made me grow as a person. I wouldn't be who I am without Odyssey.
Thank you to all my reader, supporters, and critics over the last almost 2 years. I was inspired to continue writing because of all the encouragement and positive feedback I received – even from people who I didn't know that well. There were also definitely some controversial articles that I wrote which caused a frenzy in my audience and I received major backlash. Did I ever wonder if writing about my opinions was worth the hateful comments? Yes. What kept me going was my supporters and my belief that it is important to write about the "not-so-safe" topics. I learned what I could from the words of my critics, but I would never let criticism that wasn't constructive get to me.
Thank you to every creator in the NYU Odyssey community, to my managing editors, to my executive team, and everyone who has been there through this journey with me. They say all good things must come to an end, and this is an unfortunate truth. It has been a difficult decision to choose to stop writing for Odyssey, but it is a necessary one. Without this community, I never would have discovered my passion for writing and inspiring conversations. I am immensely grateful to have had this opportunity and now it's time for someone else to have this same experience.
Odyssey, you'll be missed.
