Fredducation is where I share bits of my language learning experience. Every week I try to put out a post, but I'm not to strict with myself on that. It's whenever feels right.
Initially I set out to develop my programming skills through creating something that anyone could see. A blog seemed like a good first choice and the topic of language learning, which is one of my hobbies, ensured it wouldn't be too boring. After making a few posts I realized how much I enjoy writing about my experiences. The reflection that is writing an article and going through photos to go along with it, became an exericse in practicing gratitude.
For those that are curious as to how I made it or how one can make a similar site using Django, I've made the code available to all. Below is a nonexhaustive list of tools I used to build the site.
- Django Python Web Framework
- HTML
- CSS
- Bootstrap 5 CSS Framework
- JavaScript
- Amazon Relational Database Service (AWS RDS) provided PostrgreSQL database.
- Amazon Simple Storage Service (AWS S3) for serving static assests.
- Amazon Simple Email Service (AWS SES) for sending out a newsletter and receiving user sumbitted contact information.
- Heroku Cloud Platform for deployment.
When first starting out, I didn't know much about web development or Django. I knew I wanted to make a blog so I googled how to do that, arriving at Django. I went with it over other tools because I already knew a bit of Python and Django seemed to have everything I wanted to make managing my blog easy. The main resource I leaned on for builidng a basic understanding of Django is this YouTube playlist by CodingEntrepreneurs. It set me up to go off on my own and make Fredducation. When It came to specific features I wanted to build, I simply googled it and eventually came to a solution that worked for me or one that pushed me in the right direction.
If you have any questions, I encourage you to reach out to me on Fredducation's contact page. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have. If you have an idea for a project that excites you, I encourage you to just start. I never felt "ready", but one day I just jumped in and it all worked out.