The light, barely apparent in the chaos of the room, is an ambient reminder of that which encompasses the world of a web mistress. In the quiet hours of night, two spastic hands type incessantly at a keyboard while upbeat music comes wafting through speakers and into the ears of the creator at work. Her mind is spinning even into the new day. She hasn't slept but she keeps working because she knows she is at her best. These are the moments she lives for, those powerful moments of creative fervor and passion all furled into the blessed HTML code.

It is a common assumption that such a person should resemble a Keanu Reeves "Matrix" personae with black leather, pale skin, and no social life or grasp of true reality. This assumption, however, is bogus.

While my mind cannot fully grasp the complexity of the Internet world, somehow it is drawn into the palette the Internet has given me. Two years ago I stumbled across a tiny little box on the Internet browser that read, "view source". What emerged from a simple click of the mouse was something amazing: It was several lines of seemingly indecipherable code with which I fell in love upon first sight. The scintillatingly beautiful drama of the code captured my heart and I knew I had to learn to use it; and so the journey began. Soon, while I traveled up and down the coasts of my West Vancouver home, seeking escape and refuge for my passions, I felt drawn to the web design culture I had yet to discover fully.

What is amazing about web design, I soon discovered, is the compilation of science, art, and literature, not to mention the vast audience! The computer class I was enrolled in was nearing the HTML section when I became ill and took a week off classes. But instead of lying in bed during my leave I began to explore the web. This was the breeding ground where my true passion would emerge. Using simple tools and view source options on a variety of pages I began to learn the code and how to manipulate it to my advantage. When people began to discover this new 'obsession' of mine they gave me the same tired expression I had feared--that "she's crazy" look I'd become accustomed to in my endeavors as a child and now as a young adult.

Despite the rolled eyes and cautioning sighs I continued to explore. In just under a year, a web site I had created using limited resources and a free domain name I acquired through tripod.com, had become a common name among X-Files Internet addicts. I had somehow stumbled upon a phenomenon.

However, the stereotypes remain. The emails sent to me, at first, reflected the blinded view 'surfers'. They reflected the views that those types, who don't know what the hell "html" stands for, have of web designers. Where, I ask you, did this view come from? It may be the result of one too many viewings of Hackers or The Matrix, but whatever the cause may be, it has to stop. If I lived in my tiny room with few lights and no social life I would not have the mental capacity or stamina available to create what I create on the web! Those who do indeed live in the basements of society, barely live at all. It is becoming more and more apparent that those who do live solely in this virtual life-style lack in both design capabilities and content on their sites. This outdated view of web designers is in dire need of change.

When I sit at my computer ready to work on a new site I must dig into the realm of my consciousness, such as the images of the world, my past, and my life in general to find the ingredients necessary for digital creation. It is a process that burns within--the same as an artist or a poet.

I'm typing as I drink my coffee, talk on the phone, and people watch. I'm typing as I imagine what that person in Australia, Japan, or Ireland will think when they view the words I have written. This global perspective is the draw of most web designers today. I wear jeans, some wear leather, or satin. We are the web designers, the hands that bring you a thousand worlds on one screen. Our identities are as vast and complex as the Internet itself. We seek to impact, to inform, and to explain. You can't see us but we're there. Underestimate us at your peril.

Copyright © 2000 Kimberley May Maurice All Rights Reserved

Kimberley May Maurice is a native of British Columbia and is currently studying Communications at Trinity Western University. She is an aspiring poet and writer and is constantly seeking ways to impact her generation.