Odyssey is a platform where creators can write about what matters to them and how they want to share those topics with the rest of the world. This platform has gone from topics about college life, relationships, extracurricular activities and many more.

However, this same platform has a general perception about it, one that I can say I’ve thought about before becoming a part of the team, and what others who I’ve talked to, have thought about.

There’s this perception that Odyssey is your typical white girl sorority talking about many of the most basic issues that people may or may not have an interest in. Those are thoughts I’ve heard voiced and I’ve seen floating around on the internet.

This often deters people, girl, boys, or any gender you identify as, from writing for this certain platform because they feel that it may not cover the issues they want to discuss or see. Yet, they don't have to conform to reading or sharing those topics that they see.

That should be all the more reason why you should write for a platform that may have a certain unappealing image of it in your mind. This not only goes for Odyssey but any platform which your thoughts have reflected against.

Personally, I didn’t want this stop me because I wanted to write for something outside of my own blog because I knew that it would help my voice get carried farther than where it was at the moment.

When I saw a post for Odyssey, I signed up right away. I wanted to write for a platform in which I could share my own values and opinions with others who may share those same values but felt that they weren’t seeing those thoughts on this platform or anywhere else.

And yes, I’ve had responses where people have, in fact, related very closely to what I write about. I’m glad that I can share my voice with hundreds of people if that gives them comfort to know that they are not alone.

If someone has an issue with something, they shouldn’t just sit there and let the issue continuously happen. They need to stand up for themselves and voice their concerns about what they feel should change, because if they don’t, then life will go on with their voice being unheard.

I’m a young black woman who has now been writing for Odyssey more than several months now, a year this coming June, and in the span of my time writing for Odyssey I was a writer who continuously submitted each week, a Contributing Editor for my college community and to now, the current Editor-in-Chief of the GWU community.

I have reached passed those perceptions of the negative viewpoints of Odyssey and continued to write for myself and for others around me, not bending to the thoughts about how basic Odyssey may seem or whether it’s really that important, because, in truth, Odyssey has done a lot for me and will continue to do so as I help lead team members and share my voice with others.

The only way that you’ll really tell if something holds truth to what others are saying is by trying out that one thing and seeing for yourself what it’s like. That’s the only and true way of determining something for yourself because at the end of the day, what you want for yourself is what matters.

So yes, there are the times where girls will talk about their sororities, relationships and many other topics that some may find unappealing while others will find it very relatable, but behind all those topics are so much more and it’s continuously growing right before our eyes. I've seen works from people of color and people of various backgrounds.

Write for the platform that you want to write for. Not for the platform that others will feel is best for your race, gender, or the activities that you’re in. Write for the platform that you feel will carry you farther.

It’s okay to do what you love and to go against those friends or peers who believe they have a better idea of what is best for you. You might be surprised about where these steps will take you farther down the road.