Writing has always been a passion of my mine. I discovered the hidden talent back when I was in the fourth grade. I wrote my first short story at the time. My writing teacher loved it so much she published it in the school newspaper we had. I was so happy and so proud of myself because something of mine got so much recognition and compliments it pushed me and motivated me to write more. I remember I would use any second during the school day I could get to write. When the year ended I ended up writing a sequel to the first short story I wrote and a mystery story, that I got to read to different classes. I loved seeing the reaction on peoples faces as I read what I wrote. I didn’t think much of it when my writing teacher and parents told me that I had a talent. Since then I promised myself I would never stop writing. I even considered being a writer when I grow up.

Since then, things have changed, but only slightly. I still write when I get the chance, but I decided to take a different career path. I know they say “you’ll never work a day in your life if you love what you do,” which I find to be 100 percent true. But with me, writing isn’t something I want to pursue. I thought long and hard about it, and concluded that writing is more than just a hobby of course. When I’m writing I get lost in a different place. I find myself inside the story, which is what I mostly write, watching it play out. When I take a break because my fingers are cramping I realize how overboard I’ve gone in my writing. When I write I love to add details. As a writer, I want those who I let read my work to not just read the story from the words, but picture it every step of the way.

I never thought that my writing could take me places. After all I did it for fun, and when I wanted a break from reality. Sometimes when I’m adding a new chapter to one of the stories I am writing, I think to myself how cool would it be to have a publishing deal for this story that I am writing, that could potentially be a book. Every time I am seated at the computer writing, my brother always happens to pass by and glance at the screen. The moment he sees a document with a page full of words, he always tells me “still writing that book?” I laugh it off and continue to write. He loves to mess with me.

When I was introduced to the Odyssey platform, it was when one of my best friends had been accepted as a content creator. She told me how she could write about anything she wanted, she would be able to voice out her opinions and whatnot. Which I found to be amazing. And the best part of all was her words would get published.

I still remember when she asked me if I was interested in joining and I didn’t even hesitate to answer with a ‘yes.’ Writing is my specialty.

I chose to write for Odyssey for many reasons. One of them being it gave a person (a content creator) the opportunity to do something they love. Odyssey gives you the opportunity to speak your own words and publish it.

I’ve always just left my writing to myself, and sometimes to a few friends. I limit a lot of what I write. I mostly keep it to myself. But when I was given this opportunity, I jumped at it.

Writing has always been a passion of mine; I had the chance to have something I wrote personally, published online. I couldn’t turn it down. Publishing was just a thought of mine. I never thought I would ever get any of my works published.

Another reason why I chose to write for Odyssey was because small things turn into bigger things. I started out as a content creator and a few weeks later, I was promoted to be an Editor-in Chief for another community to help Odyssey expand. So, not only do I still get to write articles every week that get published, but I also get to help expand Odyssey into places where it isn’t present to give others the opportunity to voice themselves or to those who love to write.

My final reason for why I chose to write for Odyssey was so I could track my progress as a writer, to see how far I could get and improve myself and so I could get used to writing more often. I feel like the more I write, the more ideas I get. Which is great for me, because that means more stories, stories that could actually become something more than just a document on my computer.

So, thank you, Odyssey, for not only giving me the opportunity as a writer to express myself, but others.