Just recently, I decided to take my hidden folders full of writing pieces and do something with them. Whether they be about anxiety, social media, and/ or self love, I believed my writing was and still is beneficial to people who share the same experiences and feelings I do.

I by no means am this phenomenal grammatically correct flawless writer, but do however have a niche for for it. As my writing journey continues, I find it beneficial to sit down and think about what writing has overall taught me these past few months.

1. Writing is cathartic

If you have read anything of mine, it is clear I have an aim with all things mental health or life related. As someone who struggles with anxiety, I often times try to find things that ease my stress or exhilarated heartbeat when in troubling times. The one that has stuck after 5+ years trying, writing. Something about sitting down and writing out what it is I am feeling genuinely makes me feel better. Always.

2. Writing is fun

As silly as that may sound, writing is fun. Especially when it is something you want to write about. Being able to write for Odyssey gives me the freedom to write about anything I choose. Some weeks may be darker than others but overall, it is my choice. To me, that is fun. I get to write about whatever I want so there is never that pressure of having to follow guidelines or be perfect.

3. Writing has taught me proper grammar

As my mother so eloquently says "Do you ever proof read?" Well to answer your question love, yes I actually do. Sometimes.. When I first started, no I did not. I was either too scared to re read what I had written or wanted to submit it so bad, I would never look over my writing to make sure there were no mistakes. Obviously, I try to now. There is always going to be a mistake I miss here or there but all in all, writing has taught me to look for those little things I normally do mess up on. It has also taught me proper grammar. When I am unsure with some of my own grammar I use the internet for help which in the end has taught me so much more.

4. I have learned to love my writing...even the bad writing

When I look back on my pieces published and unpublished, I have learned now to love them all. Those little poems or anxiety pieces I wrote in a time of despair or pain are now things I not only learned from but ultimately love because they taught me to keep going when I thought I could not. I love all my writing because it has meaning. All of it does. There was and is a purpose to what I write and what I do and now being a somewhat published writer has made me see that.

5. It's a place for intrusive thoughts and all thoughts

This just might be a me thing, but I had an obnoxious amount of thoughts during a day. Even doing the most random thing this brilliant thought pops into my head and I immediately whip out my phone to write it down. On top of that, if I am ever too stressed or full of intrusive thoughts, I make it my job to write this stuff down and explore it.

Once I see it written in front of me, I have an outlet now to figure out what exactly it is that is bothering and how to fix it. Being a (new) writer has taught me to explore my head on paper and put those thoughts somewhere other than my head.