text boxes/text area HELP, text box help! Options

[Serendipity]

i wanna make a text box where i put stuff in to make my myspace look more organized i guess. but i try using different codes and it doesn't work. say i use <b> </b>. if i don't put the sentence in a text box/area, it's fine, and the word(s) turn out bold. but if i put the sentence in a text box, the <b> </b> doesn't make it bold. in fact, it just stays like <b> </b>. is there a code that actually works?? i'm probably using the wrong type of code.