Why Do I NEED a Website?

I've Had an Online Presence Since 1998

From 1998 to 2001 I kept a web page in order to share what was going on in my second grade classroom.

The internet was new to me. Our school had a digital camera and I thought it was a magical thing: take photos of what we did in the classroom, and parents could see them that very evening!

 I really enjoyed learning HTML. I loved the creativity of web-work.

It was a good thing I DID pay attention to computer skills, since I found myself burned out and looking for a non-teaching job in 2001....

Publishing Online is a LEARNING Experience

From 2001 to 2019 I didn't keep any personal websites, but I did plenty of work with computers. I learned GIS and desktop publishing and SVG and EPUB.

I like to learn. I like to make art. I like to write. Creating and maintaining a web site uses all these skills.

I redesigned the website of the Topeka Art Guild, and worked as a webmaster for a year. Another webmaster changed the color scheme and CSS stylesheets once I left, but the basic structure of the web site, and all the "inner pages" are mine. I LOVED doing that web site. It's a shame I didn't fit in with the other aspects of being a member of the Topeka Art Guild.

I'll Always be a Webmaster

It's now 2025 and I am using a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get application to easily make this web site via Google Sites.

I don't need to publish what is going on in my classroom. I don't need to learn HTML. (But I still practice CSS on my Neocities site.)

But I DO need to have an online home for all my stuff.  It is fun. It makes me happy. I absolutely LOVE being a webmaster!