Making my first Gmail account on a laptop

Put your real birthday in. If the date makes you look under the minimum age for your country (13 in most places), Google disables the account, and getting it back means proving your age. People pick a random date to get past the screen and then get locked out a few weeks later. Pick the address carefully too. You can't rename a Gmail address afterwards, only make a new one.

Open Gmail in your browser, click Create account and pick "For my personal use". Then name, birthday, choose the address (it'll suggest some if yours is taken), and a password. When it asks for a phone number and a recovery email, add both even if it lets you skip them. They're how you get back in if you ever forget the password, and adding them later is the step everyone forgets.