i'm trying, as best i can, to build this webite from scratch. when i first started, i spent a few evenings browsing css templates, both on and off neocities and went with the most basic one i felt comfortable editing myself. and then i just started working on it. i knew i wanted pastels, i knew i wanted flowers, i knew the basic structure and how i wanted it to function. and i just googled "how to [x]" every step of the way.
at some point i realized that i wanted to learn more. yeah, i knew how to edit basic templates and turn them into what i wanted them to be, but i wanted to know why code is written the way it is: how the elements all work together and how to build something from the ground up. what did the differences in the template i looked at mean? how many of those differences were about the function and purpose of the website, and how many were just the coder's personal design preferences? so now i'm learning how to code.
disign wise, i prefer beautiful simplicity. i'm not a bells and whistles and frills and ruffles person, in any aspect of my life. i prefer minimalism. i prefer simplicity. i prefer practical functionality. but i still want things to be beautiful, curated, and well-planned.
mostly i just want this to be a learning space. i'll use it as journal, as info sharing, as a stomping ground, as an experiment, as a whatever i need to be at this time. i'm letting it teach me what it wants to be more than trying to make it into something i won't use.