I never actually imagined that my final project was going to be about “feelings.” But a life event happened as I was getting close to my final project. My mood has been changing a lot while I deal with the side effects of chemo. Last July, I was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. I wouldn’t forget that day because it was on the day I spoke with my educational coach for the last time before getting transitioned over to my career coach.
I am still doing treatment, but it’s almost over, and I’m getting better. Yey! It took me a while to finish my project because I’m still working, and I go to 4 to 5 appointments every week. Phew!
Anyway, here are some of the things I did to create my project.
1. First, I designed a mock-up using Adobe XD.
Please take note that this is not exactly how my app looks like. I’ve done this in my previous projects, and it helped me visualize my project and how I want my routes to work. This app was also inspired by Momentum Chrome app and some meditation apps.
2. Reviewed React
I took a break for months that I forgot most of the React lessons. Aside from the React lessons in Learn.co, I reviewed it through Scrimba, which I discovered through FreeCodeCamp.
“Scrimba lets you play around with the instructor’s code directly inside the screencast. As a result, you’ll learn faster and have more fun.”
3. Read other students blogs
Other students’ blogs tremendously helped me in creating the final project. One of them is Sachin Majahan’s who happens to be my husband’s cohort mate:D
4. Watched React/Redux videos
It was actually in Sachin’s blog that I’ve learned about the Build Rails API Backend w React Frontend video. It helped me start my backend and frontend, and then connect them. I don’t think I’ve seen it in the Learn.co’s video lectures.
I watched more videos from the Learn.co’s videos like the Globetrotter series.
5. Added some styling
I currently work as a graphic designer, so in every project, it isn’t very easy for me not to do some styling :D As I was searching for a framework to use, I realized that there are a lot of options out there! I tried Material UI, but it was too complicated for me, so I ended up using Semantic UI React. I watched some tutorials, and Molly’s (a Flatiron School alumni) blog helped me set it up. It still took me a day to do the styling because I think I enjoyed it too much:D
Here are some screenshots of my final project.
My React/Redux project is very simple but I’m very proud of it. It took a lot of research and studies to finish, but I really enjoyed the process. But I’m glad it’s done and I’m ready for the next challenge - career change!
Update It was difficult for me to study when I was still doing chemo, so I had to postponed my assessment. After my treatment and surgery, it took me time to get back into my project. But when I did, I was already confused with it so I decided to start from scratch.
I still did a Mood Check App but I changed the Quote model into Happening. Below is the walkthrough of my project.