A Place of My Own

For the longest time, I always thought having a (portfolio) website was just the digital equivalent of one of those giant, black portfolio binders you bring to school (and comic) fairs for review in the hopes of getting into the art school (or job) of your dreams. It wasn't until I took my comics workshop (which I'm still taking, as of this writing) that I learned the true meaning behind having your own website.

A website is a homebase—a hub. When I think about it that way, I remember the only time I ever created a hub of my own was my super decorated Secret Base in Pokemon Ruby. Inside my Secret Base, I could customize and add whatever little knickknack I liked, and no one could tell me otherwise. But a website is public—not secret. So I think again, when was the last time I had a public hub? And I'm not talking about pubs, which I now realize are public hubs, because those are not my type of places. But, I digress. I return to my college days, where I had decorated my dorms (and later rented rooms) to my college-aged sophisticated tastes and had friends over almost every weekend (sometimes even every other day—boy, were we social). I had my best college days then, with friends and potluck over at our (rented) home. And I think now—that is a hub. I've always had hubs. Certainly, everyone has one (or two, or three—I don't know, real estate is a fickle matter) in their life.

So now, I have to try to transition that way of thought onto my website as I am building it into a place of my own. Going through my workshop's homework list of (checks said list) many website auditing items, I have a long way to go. And since this is really only my third website since I've built, I'm still constantly learning how to make it (work) better. Still, to build a new website that reflects who I am, which after several years of hiding behind my online pseudonym, is going to be a tough journey—one that requires a lot of "letting go" (like the song from Disney's Frozen). As to why I've used (and still use) an online pseudonym, that is a story for another time.