At the outset of learning HTML
I was told to learn how to code while in high school.
I did not.
Now, with a Bachelor's in English, work experience in higher education, a passion for the independent, and all the possibility that comes with being an artist in my mid-20s, I'm finally challenging myself to go beyond the templates afforded me on commercial blogsites like Wordpress and Tumblr.
I want to build a home for my creations, my words, my growth. Though the tools offered by the aforementioned sites have their appeal, something about sticking content in a template without knowing what goes on to make those containers appear as they do has finally struck a chord. I've edited a line or two of code back during my teen Tumblr days; I'm familiar enough with constructing something appealing using Carrd. I grew up using Weebly, I've toyed around with Wix, I've poked through the capacity of Wordpress, a Biosite with the basics about me would suffice for my early stages in building my digital presence...
But I keep going back to my NeoCities page, which consists solely of a static image linked to a YouTube video.
A blank canvas is uniquely intimidating; my lack of experience is hampering my ability to conjure a vision. The question stands: If I could build a website to be anything that I want, to showcase my art and writing and serve as a digital portfolio for all that I'm passionate about, what would it look like? I have ideas for pages and a desire to create something that inspires others to create, but nothing concrete so far.
I guess that's the fun part -- the creating. The forging. The persistence through the not-knowing.
"Behind" though I may feel in comparison to other digital natives, an upside to learning HTML at 24 is that, especially as a novice with interest in education, I'm going to be doing doubletime: As I learn, how would I want to teach someone else the same skills? Is this something I can integrate into curriculum I'd want to share with, say, high schoolers I'll teach in the future?
One thing I'm conscious of is how AI is a gAmE-cHaNgEr. Yeah, I could probably rely on ChatGPT to do a good amount of the basics I'm about to tackle (or so I imagine; I'm not a user)-- or I can use one of those AI tools that creates a website for you. But that's exactly the technology that I'm trying to circumnavigate by building this skill. I don't want quick; I don't want easy. I don't want it to be done for me.
I want to grow, struggle, and design something organically and originally... me.
I will start, then, with drafting concepts on paper. Next I'll create some digital assets using my tablet. As I go, I'll figure out how to cast these visions into lines of code.
Here's to the journey ahead. :)