I had never blogged before in my life. I never tried. I knew my small mind could not be ready for the whole world to see. Also, I did not know what my blogs would be about—and I still do not know. However, attending this class(English 1117), I had an opportunity to challenge myself, to try something entirely new.
When hearing about this long-term project, I got excited. I had this sense of joy tingling up my nerves. Being able to set up and customize my very own website/blog, gave me a break from the regular homework assignments I usually got.
Before having class time scheduled to work on the blogs, I decided to start setting it up on my own. I clicked onto the links to reach WordPress, but I had some difficulty in the beginning. WordPress was not loading onto my screen. I tried to reach it onto five different devices varying from phones to tablets to laptops/computers. I was low key going to give up and wait until class time, but I knew I needed the extra time at home. During that time, my personal laptop was glitching and not able to connect to any sources of wifi. I started out with a few obstacles.
However, I tried to use my sister’s laptop one more time. Luckily, it worked. I was relieved. I made an account and started to follow Bonnie’s instructions online. I do not have an amazing story behind my username. A few years back, I thought that if I ever made a YouTube channel or blog, I would name it “studyalike.” I was obsessed with study videos, note-taking, and calligraphy. It was a little phase that I went through, and it still remains in the blur of my mind to this day. So now, I am using this name.
Going back to the set up, I wanted to add some cool features onto my blog, but I came to realize quickly that I did have the skills to do anything that special. All I did was change the colors, added a few images and backgrounds here and there. For a first time blogger, I have a whole mountain to climb. Now, after setting up 98% of my blog, I feel satisfied. Like I said earlier, I am excited to be doing this for English class(even though I may not have complete control of what I write). It feels like I am not actually doing homework. It lifts up a bit of the stress.
Anyways, a few tips/tricks I learned from setting up a blog(even though they are obvious):
- Have patience: setting up a blog requires a bit of extra time to customize and find a theme, so do not worry about getting it absolutely perfect because in the end, blogging is a continuous thing that you build up. It doesn’t stop when you have finished “setting up.” It’s only the beginning.
- It doesn’t have to be perfect: Correlating to the tip above, you are going to be constantly changing it and/or adding onto it. So if it’s not 100% complete, do not worry.
- Customize: it seems simple to say, but really, design your blog the way you want it to be. Even though it’s for class, go add some details that symbolizes who you are or what you like/do. If you’re doing this for school, might as well add some fun into it.
Hopefully, you enjoyed it! Thank you!
studyalike 