Kailey McCorkle

English 111

Prof. Williams

13 November 2023

Artist’s Statement

The purpose of this project was to inform people about different hiking trails they can do

around North Carolina. I wanted to direct this information to hikers who are looking for new

trails and people who want to start hiking more. My blog gives options for all levels of hikers to

make sure it is able to reach out to as many people as possible. I really enjoy hiking and I chose

my audience specifically to keep people doing what they love and to get new people to try

something that might make them happy.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to find a trail you haven’t done before if you hike a lot(like

me) and I wanted to give people an opportunity to try something new. As an appeal, I used my

own credibility and experience. Giving an honest review about my experiences on different trails

helps someone decide if it's the best option for them. When looking at reviews online I’ve found

it’s hard to find information about a trail that’s not just “nice hike” or “great views.” I did my

best to give a well rounded description of each trail along with some options of what to do

around town after you hike. Included is my own experience on most of them to show that I’ve

done it myself and have a pretty good idea of what is being talked about.

I chose to do a blog because I felt like it would be the quickest and easiest way for people

to access information about different trails. It has all of the information in one spot and is

organized neatly so you’re not overwhelmed with information. It’s easy to use and quick if
you’re looking for a spur of the moment day hike. It’s also easy to share which means people can

share it to their friends/family that might be interested in finding new trails to hike.

In order to start this process, I had to think of what genre I wanted to do. I also had to

consider what I wanted to make that genre about. After thinking about it for a little bit, I decided

to do hiking. A hiking blog seemed like the best option because I really like the mountains and

had a firsthand experience of most trails in the North Carolina Mountains. I felt like a blog would

be the best source for people to access information about different hikes around the area.

Once this was decided, I figured out how to make a website and began building it. I used

Weebly.com and used the information from my annotated bibliography plus my own personal

experiences to build reviews and describe the trails. I also used my own pictures that were taken

on the trails unless it was one that I hadn't done before, in that case Google was used. The last

thing I did was add maps to each page so viewers could see where the trails were close to.

I think the pictures used for my blog went really well because they have a lot of color and

attract the attention of people interested in the mountains. At first, it was a struggle with figuring

out how to make a blog on the generator I was using. I had made a normal website before, but

never a blog. Once I figured out how to make a blog post and put everything in the right place,

the rest went smoothly.

The only thing that needed changing was the original format the generator gave me when

I started. It started off as just a regular website and I had to reconfigure the whole thing in order

to make it a blog. Throughout these changes, I kept my original idea and am happy with how it

turned out. The only other challenge I faced was when I had to go to the help page on the website

and figure out how to make it into a blog instead of a regular site. It showed me what to drag and

where to put it and ultimately let me keep my original plan.

 One thing I’m really bad at is panicking if I don't understand how to do something right

off. When I tried a few times to make a new website on Weebly.com I thought it wasn’t going to

work because I had already made a website for my digital portfolio. I immediately started

panicking because I thought I was going to have to redo my entire idea. However, I set the

project aside and came back later and quickly realized it was very easy to make a new website

and I was panicking for no reason.

Ultimately, I really like how my blog turned out. I would definitely use it to find new

trails if I wasn’t the one that made it. I think it is simple which makes it good for people to get a

quick overview of the trail and determine if they want to do it or not. I kept the appeal of using

my own experience as a review because it felt personal and trustworthy. I did see the appeal

change because I was going to make them more detailed but realized not everyone is like me so I

made them more general. I gave just enough information about my time on the trails to allow

people to form their own opinions on if they wanted to do it or not.

Given the money, time, and expertise I would’ve bought the premium version of the

website and also a better camera(instead of my phone) in order to take better pictures. While I

think the blog looks good I think higher quality pictures and better graphics would make it even

better. I also think if I knew more about making blogs I could’ve done better. Considering this

was my first time, I think I did pretty well. Once again, the thing I’m happiest with is the

pictures. Something about the color they give and the authenticity of them makes the blog look

good and seem reliable.

Overall, I think this assignment was fairly easy. Once I overcame little obstacles I was

able to make it relatively quickly. I think this has to do with the fact that I knew a lot about what
I was talking about and was passionate about the topic. I can definitely see using the website

maker in future classes because it is already the second time I have used it.