Learning in Public

Documenting my journey learning both Python and Guitar.

I'm making a concerted effort to push back against rusty skills and embrace being a beginner again.

The idea to learn in public came from a post I read on The Nerd Nook, Stop Hiding Your Progress: How to Build a Powerful Personal Brand in Tech by Learning in Public.

I believe in the possibly-maybe-an-Einstein quote: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."

While I don't need to explain every concept I take in, I'm interested in documenting the things I get stuck on. There's no way I'm the first to get stuck on that concept.

I'm learning Python to automate testing tasks and build small tools. I like how flexible the language is. It's used in a lot of places I'd never have guessed. [Insert future reasons here.] I'm working through the Python certification on freecodecamp.org, so many exercises in my log come from there.

Current Focus: Beginner Concepts

Variables & Loops 40%

Log

  • April 05, 2026: Built a Travel Weather Planner.
  • March 28, 2026: Built a Movie Ticket Booking Calculator.
  • March 20, 2026: Wrote a Python script to calculate splitting a restaurant bill amongst friends.
  • March 14, 2026: Completed the employee profile generator project.
  • February 27, 2026: Completed the report card project on freecodecamp.org.
  • February 13, 2026: Reviewed basic syntax (variables, loops).

Project II: Bill Splitter

This project is part of my FreeCodeCamp Python certification coursework, designed to split a restaurant bill fairly.

It takes in the itemized amounts, calculates the total bill amount, desired tip percentage, and the number of friends splitting the cost. It then calculates the exact amount each person needs to pay, formatting the result as standard currency.

Watch me code this project from scratch below, working through mathematical operations, and f-strings in Python.

Project I: Coin Collector Game

Screenshot of the Coin Collector game showing the fox character, a coin, score, and timer

A small, simple 2D game built with Python and the PyGame Zero library.

The goal is to control a fox and collect as many coins as possible before the timer runs out.

Be warned: If you download and try to run the .exe, you'll get a scary warning about running unsigned software. You'll have to trust my word that it's virus-free, and download at your own risk.

Link to GitHub Repo

Anyone who knows me well knows I played guitar as a teenager. Despite my shyness, I entered talent shows, open mics, and performed in a few concerts. I fought with performance anxiety and ultimately gave it up in my late teens. Lately I've felt creatively stunted and I've wanted to pick it up again.

Current Focus: Open Chords

Chord Transitions 70%

Log

  • May 31, 2026: Officially began guitar lessons! It's so good to have professional guidance.
  • May 03, 2026: Mastering transitions between A, E, and D. Much more fluid now.
  • March 26, 2026: Learned to play "As Long as it Matters" by The Gin Blossoms.
  • March 21, 2026: Learned to play "Sea of Love" by Cat Power and "Love Me Different" by Hailey Williams.
  • March 15, 2026: Learned to play basic open chords (G, C, D).
  • March 08, 2026: Practicing transitioning between chords smoothly. Oh my god my lack of calluses is killing me.

Songs I Can Play

  • "Sea of Love" by Cat Power
  • "Love Me Different" by Hailey Williams
  • "As Long as it Matters" by The Gin Blossoms