Don't Fear the Internet

One of the skill sets I’ve been trying to master is learning HTML and CSS. Being a Political Science and Media Studies double major, these are areas that were not included in our curriculum though I think they’re pretty important to have. Being able to build a basic website is something I’ve always wanted to learn to do but I don’t really have a need for a website (well perhaps a resume/portfolio would be nice but that’s for a later day) except for my blogs. I currently run two blogs, neither of which gets much readership, but they’re both my outlets in different ways.

I redid my Tumblr blog over winter break with a lot of Googling and Tumblr FAQ because I wanted a theme that was more personal to my tastes and I wanted to emulate some of the blogs that I follow that I really liked. Unfortunately, all I got was a shoddy copycat version of some of my favorite blogs and though it does serve its purpose, it’s not exactly the most beautiful. Nonetheless, it was my first attempt at coding something aesthetically and I have a long ways to go.

So for this new chapter in my life and new beginning of my 22nd year, I’m adding learning HTML and CSS to my list of things to do (I’ll post the whole list on my birthday. FOUR MORE DAYS!) and I’m going to try and revamp both my blogs. I’m currently using Blogger to maintain this blog but I’m debating whether I should transfer it to Tumblr so I can run both my blogs from the same platform…another issue for another day, I guess.

To help me on my HTML and CSS endeavors, I turned to Google to see if it could just suggest some sites to help me out. I originally went through most of the tutorials on W3Schools and it gave me a pretty basic understanding but because Tumblr and Blogger both have tags and stuff that are pretty specific to each of their platforms, there’s still a lot I don’t know!

I’ve decided to take it back to basics and almost start all over, while keeping a notebook to solidify all my learning. You can take the girl out of school, but the schooling never really leaves the girl. I’m currently watching videos on “Don’t Fear the Internet” and it’s teaching you all the basics and giving me a better understanding of CSS, which I never really understood. It's great because the videos aren't too long, maybe 10-14 minutes tops for the longest ones and shorter 5 minute intro videos. I can also pause and go back if I want to copy stuff down, which is great. I’m hoping after all my tutorials, I’ll have a better understanding as well as better looking blog!