Man, 2018, that was a real whirlwind of a year. I remember sitting around, feeling a bit adrift after that whole mess with my old landlord, couldn’t get a new place sorted, just felt like everything was sideways. My head was buzzing with all sorts of worries, you know? Bills piling up, staring at the ceiling and just thinking, “What now?” I had a ton of time on my hands, not much going on, and certainly not much cash flowing in. I just needed something to latch onto, something to occupy my brain.
I started just messing around online. You know, just clicking things, reading whatever popped up in my feed, trying to find something, anything, to distract myself from the real-world headache. And then it hit me. People love horoscopes, right? Especially when they’re free. I thought, “Hey, how hard can it actually be to whip up some weekly stuff for Pisces?” I had a couple of friends who were Pisces, always talking about their feelings and dreams, so I figured I had a ‘target audience,’ kinda. It felt like a small, harmless project I could actually finish.
Getting Started: The Bare Bones
First thing, I had to figure out how to even put this thing out there. I certainly didn’t have any money to throw at a fancy website or anything like that. So, I started messing around with one of those free blog builders. You know the type, super basic, drag and drop, a bit clunky. Man, that was a project in itself. I spent a couple of nights just trying to get a decent banner image to actually stay where I wanted it on the page. It would jump around, resize weirdly, just wouldn’t cooperate. Felt like I was fighting with an actual physical object sometimes. But I pushed through, eventually got something that looked passable, if not professional.
Then came the actual writing. And let me tell you, I didn’t know squat about astrology. My knowledge was pretty much limited to the newspaper horoscopes my grandma used to read. So, I hit up Google. I searched for every ‘intro to astrology’ and ‘Pisces personality traits’ page I could find. I read through all this really vague stuff about Neptune ruling Pisces, about dreams, intuition, sensitivity, all that deep, emotional stuff. It sounded profound, I guess. My goal was to pull out some common themes, things that felt generally positive or gently cautionary for the week ahead.
- I started with a general theme: “This week, lean into your intuition.”
- Then I’d try to tie in some common Pisces traits: “You might feel extra sensitive to others’ emotions.”
- Finally, a small, actionable (or at least reassuring) piece of advice: “Trust your gut feelings, they won’t lead you astray.”
I’d try to sprinkle in words like “reflection,” “flow,” “clarity,” “empathy.” Real generic, flowery stuff. The kind that, if you squinted hard enough, could probably apply to anyone, whether they were a Pisces or not. It felt a bit like trying to write a fortune cookie message, but longer and slightly more poetic. I aimed for about 200 words, tops, for each weekly reading. Didn’t want to overdo it.
The Weekly Grind and the Harsh Reality
My routine became pretty set. Every Sunday evening, I’d park myself in front of my beat-up old laptop. I’d crack open a cheap soda, usually some off-brand cola, and stare at a blank screen. My goal was to pump out that week’s reading before midnight. It was surprisingly tough to sound wise and comforting when I just felt confused and stressed myself. I’d try to sound encouraging, give a little nudge, that whole ‘you got this’ kind of vibe. Sometimes it flowed, other times it felt like pulling teeth.
Sharing it? That was even tougher. I just kinda posted the link on my personal social media, mostly Facebook. I’d tag my Pisces friends, like, “Hey, check this out, it’s for you!” A few clicked, I guess. Most probably just scrolled right past it without a second thought. My mom even saw it once and said, “Oh, that’s nice, dear,” with that tone only a mother can perfect. Yeah, real encouraging, Mom.
I kept it up for maybe two, three months. Every single week, the same struggle. Trying to sound profound, trying to make it interesting, trying to get anyone to actually
care
. It felt like I was just shouting into a big, empty void. I wasn’t getting rich from my free readings, that’s for damn sure. I wasn’t even getting comments. It was just… me and my little weekly prophecy on a lonely corner of the internet.
What I really learned wasn’t about astrology, or even web design, not really. It was about the grind of putting something out there, even when you feel silly. It was about showing up, week after week, no matter how small or insignificant the project seemed. It also showed me how much effort goes into even the simplest things online. And how much content is just… floating around out there, probably never truly seen or appreciated.
I eventually just stopped. Life, as it often does, started pulling me in other directions. Got a temp job, things slowly started to clear up on the home front. The need to fill that empty space with a silly little project faded. But for a little while there, I was ‘the guy who did the free Pisces horoscopes.’ It was a weird little chapter, a strange detour in a tough year. It certainly didn’t solve any of my big problems from 2018, not by a long shot. But it was a thing I
did
. And sometimes, just doing something, anything, no matter how small or silly it feels, is what you need to keep moving forward.
