Welcome to the Blog

How Did We Get Here

Although I first launched my own space on the web from scratch in 2023, I felt the finished product was lacking depth. Yeah, I was proud to have carved my own space out on the web. Sure, it wasn't perfect but, it was built and deployed!

I created a single page application with React, showcased a few additional launched projects, and listed my favorite tools and tech. It was still missing something. I wanted a way to make it more personal and authentic, and let users know the real me in a way that only I could tell them.

Along came the idea to build my own blog. How long would it take? What tools would I use? Which direction did I want to take it stylistically? As they say, there was only one way to find out.

To Build or Not to Build

The problem with so many options was the classic case of decision paralysis. I've heard of many different platforms and methods to get a blog up and running. I've even read many articles on why it is advisable not to build your own platform from scratch as this takes away from the experience and joy of writing itself.

Being stubborn and but also being a developer, of course I decided to do the opposite and build one myself.

Does It Spark Joy

After deciding that I would take on the quest of building my blog from scratch, I did the next logical sane thing that I could think of.

I didn't write a single line of code.

Yes, ultimately I built the blog otherwise we wouldn't be here. But let me explain.

Sometimes I can be a little slow to start a task. This has always had drawbacks, but can also lead to some advantages. Being faced with so many different options, I knew I had to try and get it right the first time. This is my own site, why shouldn't I get to get it right on my own terms?!

After researching different options and frameworks for creating my new online presence, I landed on Next.js. After spending weeks tinkering with different rendering methods, workarounds and best practices, I was finally set and ready to go.

While I didn't know much about Next.js at the time of starting, the journey was an incredible experience. While I was always comfortable with React, getting to leverage those skills in a new way to build applications deepened my knowledge and overall understanding of the architecture of a frontend application.

Understanding client versus server, rendering, routing and optimizations opened up those "aha!" moments for me and filled in gaps of understanding which I didn't realize I was missing.

While it still may not be "perfect" (who defines perfect anyways?), I wouldn't have taken any other direction looking back as I consider this one of my most involved projects to date in terms of the lessons learned, the depth built throughout, and the smile it put on my face when the final product was deployed.

What's Next

While I have no set schedule for the release of new content, the intent of creating this personal space was to share ideas and insights, along with enabling me to dive into new technology and take lessons learned along the way. Whether I'm learning something new or find a topic which drives my curiosity, this space will be used to publish my thoughts.