The year was 1998. I was in my first year in college and more stressed out than I've ever been in my life. Chemistry 14 and 14.1 were clouds of death looming over my head. Add to that the fact that Christmas was merrily jingling its silver bells just a few yards away, and worst of all, I was doomed to spend it feeling lonely and heartbroken. My ex-boyfriend just told me we haven't got a snowball's chance in hell of getting back together.

I was getting desperate. I couldn't see any other way out. If I wanted to dispel my depression, there was only one thing I could do...

(Cue dramatic music swelling to a powerful crescendo.)

I decided to stop feeling so sorry for myself, get off my lazy butt, and start learning how to make a Web page.

(Dramatic music screeches to a squeaking halt and is replaced by the comedic tooting of a trumpet.)

It made perfect sense. With all the problems and stress bearing down heavily on me, I needed to keep myself busy so I can stop thinking of them. A Web site was the perfect distraction. Besides, I had been thinking of creating one for some time then except I didn't know how to go about it. I didn't know the first thing about HTML (I didn't even know what HTML was) and my friend and I held the mistaken belief that you probably had to have your computer turned on the whole time so your site is constantly online.

The time had finally come. That very night, I plopped down in front of my computer and started working.

First things first. Where should I host my Web site? Ah, that was an easy question, I figured any newbie would go running to GeoCities for shelter. Problem solved. The next problem I needed to address: what should my Web site be about? That threw me into a tizzy for a moment until I thought, "Hey, I love animé. Why not make an entire site about a particular series?"

Thus my Sailormoon Web site was born. Sure I just borrowed a picture for the main page, used the EZ Editor and a GeoCities wallpaper, but I was so proud of myself, never mind that I fell prey to chibi-senshi adoptions, underlined links, and Times New Roman. I made a Web site even though I didn't know one snippet of HTML code and it was great.

After that, Web design consumed me so much I literally forgot to eat. I learned HTML eventually and after that, I'd be tweaking my layout constantly, adding content, making my own wallpapers and graphics, and scanning pictures day and night. I was even working on my site all throughout New Year's Eve. I knew my little Web page didn't stand a chance against the popular and legendary Sailormoon Web sites, but I didn't care. I loved what I was doing and was willing to keep working on it.

Eventually, my interest in Sailormoon diminished and I decided to move on to other things, as well as to other Web hosts. One of my other projects was a Web site about Teacher Seravi in Akazukin ChaCha, probably the first one that was truly dedicated to him (the things that turn me on). Another one was called Pieces of Eternity, created during a time when I was absolutely bursting with love for a certain person. Everything I felt about him, I wrote down as prose or poetry. You can say that was a small venture into the world of personal Web sites. But the idea of having an actual personal Web site didn't come to me until I came across people's long, sprawling "About Me" sections, entirely separate from the rest of their Web site; I never realized people could actually be conceited enough to write about themselves and what goes on in their lives, even taking pictures and posting them on their sites. I always thought you should keep yourself anonymous online.

But look who's talking now. Presently, I have a Web site full of Web log posts and journal entries, my writings, my illustrations, pictures, and information about me, among many other things, all of them revealing many facets of my personality and my life.

Overall, my Web site experiences have been wonderful. I've been doing this for four years now and although I get so tired of thinking up layouts, colour schemes, and fresh content sometimes, I doubt I'll be stopping anytime soon. I not only learn something new about Web design every time I work on my site, I've also managed to improve my drawing skills and have started writing again. An even nicer bonus is meeting nice new friends through my Web site.

Hmm, you know what? I think I might actually have to call and thank my ex and my professors for pissing me off enough to make me start learning how to do this.