HTML Fail

Am I the only one who abslutely fails at thiss? I cannot do this. At all. I dd it on an example site. Buttt then I tried to do it in my story. And FAILED. The worst part is that I've been trying for 30 minutes to learn to italicize 1 WORD! Someone help me T.T? Im never gonna figure this out on my own... But until then. I'll just.. Improvise in my stories. Do you think someone please help me please?. Im desperate. Like... Super desperate D: Sorry if Im rambling.. Im trying to make this long enough to post (I just fail at evrything.)