Time is almost up! One last week and we’ll be official graduates from General Assembly’s web development course. But before that, one final project. One final push to build something—anything—for fun (and practice, of course).

I shortlisted a few project ideas in preparation for this week and I’m excited to be working on a reading tool for slow-reading that I’d personally want to use. Slow reading, if you’re not familiar with the concept, is like slow cooking or slow living; you read like in the old days, more deliberate, taking time to digest a text. (Slow reading might just also be something I just invented. I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter.)

Deciding on this project wasn’t easy and I honestly don’t feel particularly strongly about this over the other projects (drone delivery fleet management system, or a WhatsApp with group expiry dates). In the end, I decided on the one that felt most interesting.

Technicalities of the app

It’s going to be a web app.

I think it will involve the use of these modern web dev techniques:

• Consuming APIs (content)
• Using a CSS library (likely Semantic UI)
• Mobile responsive design (sizes and swiping)
• Using jQuery (AJAX and animations)
• Building on Rails backend with PostgreSQL database
• Combining a previous similar project’s features, somehow)
• Using ReactJS for elements that can benefit from being reactive

Just what I think right now. Reality is likely to be different. But the goal is clear to me: build with whatever is necessary, and nothing more. I’m not going to use anything overly sophisticated just because. Use of any of the above will come from pragmatism. Having been through 4 other 1-week projects, I think I can pace myself better for this one.

I’m tempted to look back now and think about how far we’ve all come, and to start thinking about what companies to apply to and so and so. But I won’t. It’s time to focus. It’s time to strap in and prepare for one final helluva ride. What lies beyond will have to wait!