So I am a new player of D&D and am making my character and I am not sure how to get the numbers for skills (wisdom, strength,..ext). I read the manual and it did not go into detail about how to get these numbers. I have also looked online and it talks about rolling 4d6 and removing the bottom one but the numbers I have seen are like 1's, 2's or in the negatives and when you do the method listed above you get way bigger numbers. I might just be missing something obvious but I really need help.
I'll respond if you have any questions about what i'm asking. Thanks, Tarin! 

P.S. i'm a half elf, Bard and my background is outlander if that matters