Changing the Way I Write

Hello friends,

Today, I decided to make a change in the way I write, the way I share my thoughts, and the way I share my stories and the stories unfolding around me. Today, I made the decision to stop writing for The Odyssey. For the last eightish months, I've submitted articles for publication about the election, about my life, and about the world around me. While I've enjoyed having an outlet to express myself, and producing content for you all to enjoy, I've come to discover that The Odyssey and I are not necessarily the best fit for one another. With working two jobs and preparing for my last year of college, I don't always have the time to commit that I want to. I've come the decision that if I can't commit fully to being a regular contributor, it's unfair to the DU Odyssey community to stay involved.

But just because the way I write is shifting, that doesn't mean I won't be writing, and that I won't be creating similar content that I've been producing and sharing the last several months. I plan to create content, but on my own blog, this blog, so that I can continue to write and share my story, while at the same time recognizing that I won't be negatively impacting a group of hard-working content creators.

To those that have stuck by and read my articles the last eight months, thank you. I hope that you continue to read my content, and learn more about my story, even if that content is no longer published on a millennial idea-sharing platform.

Thanks,

Ashley

P.S. I've linked the articles below that I wrote during my time with The Odyssey, and I hope you'll consider checking them out if you haven't already.

• The Voting Rights Act Turns 51 - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/voting-rights-act-turns-51
• Denverites Brave the Heat to Celebrate Culture - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/denver-international-festival-2016
• The Great (Un)equalizer - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/great-unequalizer
• Caught Between Two Worlds - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/caught-between-two-worlds
• Brexit Panic Causes People to Face their Ignorance - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/brexit-uninformed-vote
• Guilty Pleasure Shows to Indulge in this Summer - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/guilty-pleasure-shows-to-indulge-this-summer
• Five Reasons to See 'Once' the Musical - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/5-reasons-to-see-once
• Rocky Mountain High [Notes] - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/rocky-mountain-high-notes
• "Why Don't You Just Stop?" - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/life-with-dermatillomania
• College? For Certain! - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/college-for-certain
• Dear Teacher - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/dear-teacher
• When In Doubt, Take a Nap - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/arianna-huffington-visits-du-sleep-revolution-tour
• White Privilege is a Thing, and No, It's not Racist - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/denver/white-privilege-exists-not-racist/390945
• Go Ahead and Vote For Who You Want - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/vote-never-waste
• Spring Midterm/Finals Week as Told By Turtles - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/denver/spring-midterms-told-by-turtles/354346
• Inside a Caucus - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/inside-caucuses
• Your Handy Guide to Super Tuesday - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/guide-to-super-tuesday
• For the Last Time, the "Friend Zone" Does Not Exist - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/friend-zone-does-not-exist
• What the F**k is a Superdelegate? - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/denver/what-is-superdelegate/312164
• To Those Who Have Never Been in a Romantic Relationship - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/open-letter-never-been-in-relationship
• The Internship Game - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/denver/internship-game/304324
• What's a Caucus, and How do I Find Mine? - https://www.theodysseyonline.com/what-is-caucus-primary

The Voting Rights Act Turns 51 -- The Odyssey

The Voting Rights Act Turns 51
But we still have voter disenfranchisement in 2016

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/voting-rights-act-turns-51

Caught Between Two Worlds -- The Odyssey

Caught Between Two Worlds
Where do I belong?

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/caught-between-two-worlds

Guilty Pleasure Shows to Indulge in This Summer -- The Odyssey

Guilty Pleasure Shows to Indulge in This Summer

Treat yourself to my top five guilty pleasure shows

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/guilty-pleasure-shows-to-indulge-this-summer

Five Reasons to See 'Once' The Musical -- The Odyssey

Five Reasons to See 'Once' The Musical -- The Odyssey

A captivating, Tony-Award-winning musical that will capture you from the very start.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/5-reasons-to-see-once 

Why Don't You Just Stop? -- The Odyssey

Why Don't You Just Stop?
If I could stop, I would...

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/denver/life-with-dermatillomania/467735

Rocky Mountain High [Notes} -- The Odyssey

Rocky Mountain High [Notes]
10 Bands You Didn't Know Were From Colorado

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/rocky-mountain-high-notes 

College? For Certain! -- The Odyssey

College? For Certain!
University of Denver hosts its Fourth Annual Day of Action.

Check out this article I wrote about Day of Action! Thanks to all involved with the day, and special thanks to CCESL/Michael Gooch for lending me some pictures for the day.

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/college-for-certain/452058

Dear Teacher -- The Odyssey

Dear Teacher
To the teacher(s) who pushed me

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/dear-teacher/437621

When in Doubt, Take A Nap -- The Odyssey

When in Doubt, Take A Nap

Arianna Huffington's #SleepRevolution College Tour Kicks Off In Denver

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/arianna-huffington-visits-du-sleep-revolution-tour/403403

White Privilege is a Thing, and No, It's Not Racist -- The Odyssey

White Privilege is a Thing, and No, It's Not Racist

A response to "Why White Privilege is as Racist as it Sounds"

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/white-privilege-exists-not-racist/390945

The Continuing War on Higher Education

Today, Chicago State University asked it's students and employees to begin turning in their keys to campus buildings. Due to the Illinois governor vetoing several bills funding higher ed and and the two parties not agreeing on a budget for the year, many public colleges in Illinois are suffering, with the public colleges not receiving any funding for the last 10 months, because apparently party politics is more important than the thousands of students and employees who are facing the cuts, receiving layoff notices, being asked to turn in their keys, being told that the semester is ending early.

This is so unfortunate. Politicians acting like voting with their party is more important than actually getting things done. Now 4,800 students and over 900 employees at Chicago State, and many other students and employees at other Illinois public colleges are being affected by your party politics. Hopefully you Illinois folk vote your governor out in 2018, and a ton of your state house and senate members, whose seats are up for grabs in this year's election. If you didn't think your vote matters before, it certainly does now. Think about all of the employees, the students that this affects. Many of the students who go to Chicago are students of color and students from low socioeconomic statuses. Here, we again see strong inequity in higher education.

Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education

Go Ahead And Vote For Who You Want -- The Odyssey

Go Ahead and Vote For Who You Want
Why Your Vote Is Never A Waste

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/vote-never-waste/381721

Food for Thought: Politicians As the "Saviors" and Local Elections

In the midst of all of my politics-related studies, I sometimes forget our politicians and governmental officials are actual people. I just got a call from my local Representative to make sure I had the right information about this Saturday's county convention, which I actually didn't, because the lady who called me yesterday gave me the wrong information, and this was upsetting, considering she claimed to be a part of the headquarters for the candidate I represent as a delegate. Anyways, the real reason I share this is to show how important it is to interact with your constituents. That type of reaching out ought to mean much more than a politician saying they know how to figure out all of your problems without actually asking a community what it needs; I have a huge problem with this concept of someone needing to go in and be a savior of others, and we've seen that all too much in our presidential race, where these presidential candidates think they know what needs to be done. For example, Donald Trump thinks we need to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, but I didn't see him consult any of the folks living along that border, in both nations, to see if that's what they need. After all, they live near the border, and experience life near the border on a day to day basis. Why shouldn't they be consulted before a giant wall is built in their backyard? I'm pretty sure they have a better idea of what they need than Donald Trump does. If the people that are supposed to represent us actually did this, we'd see a completely different political system, and a much different society. In addition to this, those that represent us on the local level have a pretty good idea about what their community needs, usually, which is why I personally think they're more effective leaders and politicians, and I think more national officeholders should take note, and follow the types of politics they exhibit. But that is not how our political system works, so as citizens, we need to stand up against it, and hold our political systems to higher standards. It could be so much more that it is now.

Also, state & local government matters, so make sure you consider the candidates of your local governmental positions as much as you do for a presidential election. One, your Representatives and Senators make up Congress, either U.S. Congress, or your state Congress, so you might as well pick quality ones in order to get stuff done. Two, I strongly believe that your local elections have a much larger impact on your day-to-day lives than do national elections. As important as it is to have a President who represents the people, the President doesn't have much power, and is more like a national figurehead than a political powerhouse. Now your local and state officials, they make most of the decisions that impact you on a daily basis. 

This is basically a little bit of a political rant My point is, don't forget to be an informed voters for all of your candidates, local, state, and national, and make sure to actually turn out.

Inside A Caucus -- The Odyssey

Inside A Caucus: A First Person Account of What It's Like To Participate in A Caucus

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/inside-caucuses/344486

Your Handy Guide to Super Tuesday -- The Odyssey

Your Handy Guide to Super Tuesday
Everything you need to know about the primary contests on Tuesday, March 1.

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/guide-to-super-tuesday/331165

Despite the date listed, it barely got published today, otherwise I would have had it up sooner. Better late than never! (:

I Got a Writing Gig

Hey all. If you for some reason actually follow my blog, this post is for you. I haven't been able to post recently for a couple of reasons. One, I returned from studying abroad a couple months ago and haven't quite adjusted back to life back in the US. Two, I recently started writing for the Odyssey, so a lot of my content that actually matters is being published there. I will try and provide the links to those articles every week, so you can keep up with my writing, and I eventually hope to start regularly committing to this blog, so that posts become more regular. I have a lot of content I'm excited to cover, just little time to actually pursue it. Anyways, thanks for your support, and thanks for reading!

For the Last Time, The "Friend Zone" Does Not Exist -- The Odyssey

For the Last Time, The "Friend Zone" Does Not Exist
It sucks, but people are not obligated to reciprocate your feelings.

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/friend-zone-does-not-exist/322726

What the F**k is a Superdelegate? -- The Odyssey

What the F**k Is A Superdelegate?
All you need to know about superdelegates and what they mean for the Democratic race.

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/what-is-superdelegate/312164

To Those Who've Never Been in A Romantic Relationship -- The Odyssey

To Those Who've Never Been in A Romantic Relationship
Self-love is a powerful form of love.

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/open-letter-never-been-in-relationship/310719

The Internship Game -- The Odyssey

The Internship Game
There's a dark side to the internship game that most people don't realize exists.

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/internship-game/304324

What is a Caucus? And How Do I Find Mine? -- The Odyssey

Check out my first article writing for The Odyssey!

What is a Caucus? And How Do I Find Mine?
As the contests begin, we've got you covered with the quick-and-dirty of primaries and caucuses.

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/what-is-caucus-primary/297521