I'm a double science major, and people are often shocked when I tell them that I write on Odyssey. They think that since I am a science person there is no way that I can be passionate about something not related to science.
"You write? Like every week? But aren't you a science major?"
My response to that is yes. Yes, I am a science major, and I may not have very many writing assignments for my classes. But that doesn't mean that I don't have a passion for writing. When I write, I am able to activate a whole new part of me that is not always able to shine in my science classes. I am able to use my imagination and speak my mind.
For this, I am forever grateful to Odyssey.
Being a writer on top of a science major is a way for me to make myself more well-rounded. Have you ever met someone who only does one thing over and over again every day and nothing else? I have, and I have found that these people know so much about what they do but nothing about anything else. Conversations with them end so quickly because there are only so many things you can say to someone about one topic.
Having many different interests outside of your "chosen path" is not a waste of time; it is you well-rounding yourself and broadening your palette. This is exactly what I am doing with my writing. I have always loved to write, and I did not want to let go of that side of myself simply because I chose to be a biology and kinesiology major. Writing gives me a break from the hectic science world that I live in, and writing every week helps me to relax and live in my own imagination for a little bit.
I love my science majors, I really do. But often I feel as though I have to shut off the imaginative and creative side of myself when I am in my science classes. Writing helps me use my imagination when everything in my life is telling me to keep it shut off. It helps me to get my thoughts on paper or simply vent to a journal (because a journal won't give me advice I don't want, it just listens). Journaling has been another source of writing for me in which I can write my raw thoughts on paper. No editing. No publishing. Just my thoughts.
But writing on Odyssey has provided me with an amazing opportunity that I would not have been able to have otherwise. How many other science majors can say that they have their writing posted every week on an online platform? My bet is on not very many. So thank you, Odyssey. Thank you for giving a science major like me the opportunity to share her own thoughts and allow the whole world to see them, too.