Andrej Builds

Web developer with 1+ year of experience, working mostly with WordPress while rebuilding my React/frontend foundations and letting God guide me.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

I'm Andrej.

A web dev with 1 year of experience.

Most of my year went into WordPress
and client sites.

Why WordPress?

That's what they used at work
and while trying to get good at
the technologies they use at work.

I got rusty at the stuff I enjoyed.

Fronted
React
Writing code

One day I turned on my PC.

Sat down to get to work, and
out of nowhere I started...

Feeling sad
Feeling defeated
Feeling unmotivated

Why?

Because I realized I had become the dev
who only knew how to deliver the work,
not the dev who loved the craft.

That is when I decided to rebuild
my foundations.

Learn React again.

And keep going until full-stack is mine too.

Here's what you'll get here:
• Honest wins & embarrassing bugs
• What I'm learning (and what's kicking my butt)
• Eventually: my journey into full-stack

I'm not here to perform.
I'm here to be honest.

To teach those behind me.
Learn from those ahead.

And honestly, I am not doing this alone.

Every small step is guided by God.

All of this
Every small step
Every small decision

I owe it to Jesus.

If that resonates, let's connect. 🤝

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@oladele94302 Clean structure.

The "what I can do for you" framing instead of bio first is the move I want to steal for mine 😅

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

Today I am continuing to
rebuild my React foundations.

Still taking it slow.
Still trying to understand basics
instead of just rushing to the next topic.

Now on to day 4.

Today was not a completely new concept.

It was more about practicing the
the things I already learned:

Reusable structure
Components
Props

So I built a small dashboard card.

The goal was simple.

Create one reusable InfoCard component
and pass data into it with props.

I passed in thing like:

description
badge
value
title
icon

At first, this felt like a small thing.

But while building it, props started
to make more sense.

Because the component keeps the
same structure, but the data can
change depending on where
I use it.

For example:

One card can show total issues.

Another card can show resolved issues.
Another card can show high priority bugs.

Same component.
Different data.

That is where reusable components
started to click a little more for me.

You do not build the same card
again and again.

You build the structure once.

Then you reuse it with different values.

One thing I learned today:

Components become more useful
when they are not locked to one
specific piece of content.

The structure can stay the same.

The props make it flexible.

Simple idea.

But this is the first time reusable
components started to feel more practical
and less like just a React explanation.

That’s day 4.

See you tomorrow for day 5.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

Today I am continuing to
rebuild my React foundations.

Still taking it slow.
Still trying to understand basics
instead of just rushing to the next topic.

Now on to day 4.

Today was not a completely new concept.

It was more about practicing the
the things I already learned:

Reusable structure
Components
Props

So I built a small dashboard card.

The goal was simple.

Create one reusable InfoCard component
and pass data into it with props.

I passed in thing like:

description
badge
value
title
icon

At first, this felt like a small thing.

But while building it, props started
to make more sense.

Because the component keeps the
same structure, but the data can
change depending on where
I use it.

For example:

One card can show total issues.

Another card can show resolved issues.
Another card can show high priority bugs.

Same component.
Different data.

That is where reusable components
started to click a little more for me.

You do not build the same card
again and again.

You build the structure once.

Then you reuse it with different values.

One thing I learned today:

Components become more useful
when they are not locked to one
specific piece of content.

The structure can stay the same.

The props make it flexible.

Simple idea.

But this is the first time reusable
components started to feel more practical
and less like just a React explanation.

That’s day 4.

See you tomorrow for day 5.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@samridhi92099 That’s the right mindset.

Showing up daily teaches more than trying to make every session perfect.

What was today’s JavaScript topic?

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@Keshavdotdev Nice work.

Learning PostgreSQL while building a real project sounds like the best way to make it stick.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@Himanshi1286 Busy day but solid progress.

Working on your main project instead of only studying.

That balance between practice and theory is hard to keep.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@Keshavdotdev Thank you, see you on day 3 :)

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

Today I sat down to continue
rebuilding my React foundations.

Still motivated.
Still grateful.

Still trying to understand the basics
properly instead of rushing
through them.

Now on to Day 3.

Today’s topic: Props.

The way I understand props right now:

Props let a parent component pass
data to a child component.

Instead of hardcoding everything inside a
component, React lets us send different
values depending on where that
component is used.

For example:

<Welcome name="Andrej" />

The parent gives the name.

The Welcome component receives
it and uses it.

So instead of making a component
that always says the same thing,
we can make it flexible.

A button does not always need
to say “Save.”

It could say:

Save
Cancel
Delete
Submit

An issue card does not always need
the same title, status, or priority.

Those values can be passed with props.

That makes components more reusable
and easier to work with.

One thing I learned today:

Props should be treated as read-only
inside the child component.

The parent sends the data.
The child uses the data.

Simple idea, but very important.

Because props are one of the first things
that make React components
feel truly reusable.

That’s day 3.

See you tomorrow for day 4.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

Today I sat down to continue
rebuilding my React foundations.

Still motivated.
Still grateful.

Still trying to understand the basics
properly instead of rushing
through them.

Now on to Day 3.

Today’s topic: Props.

The way I understand props right now:

Props let a parent component pass
data to a child component.

Instead of hardcoding everything inside a
component, React lets us send different
values depending on where that
component is used.

For example:

<Welcome name="Andrej" />

The parent gives the name.

The Welcome component receives
it and uses it.

So instead of making a component
that always says the same thing,
we can make it flexible.

A button does not always need
to say “Save.”

It could say:

Save
Cancel
Delete
Submit

An issue card does not always need
the same title, status, or priority.

Those values can be passed with props.

That makes components more reusable
and easier to work with.

One thing I learned today:

Props should be treated as read-only
inside the child component.

The parent sends the data.
The child uses the data.

Simple idea, but very important.

Because props are one of the first things
that make React components
feel truly reusable.

That’s day 3.

See you tomorrow for day 4.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@J_Tara_ Nice progress.

Typing indicators and message history are small features from the user side, but they make the chat feel much more real and usable.

Good backend practice too.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@oladele94302 Nice work.

Responsive UI practice is where frontend skills really start to improve.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@pritesh_sorte_ @striver_79 @takeUforward_ That’s solid progress.

Binary tree views can be tricky at first, especially top view, bottom view, and left/right view.

Solving 4 problems on that topic in one day is a strong session.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@samridhi92099 Day 9 already.

That consistency matters more than it feels like in the moment.

JavaScript can be confusing, but showing up every day is what makes the concepts start to click.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@Keshavdotdev Good progress.

Learning PostgreSQL and Drizzle through a real project is probably the best way to make it stick.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@Himanshi1286 That’s solid progress for a busy day.

Solving problems, touching SQL and binary trees, and still working on ML concepts while tired is not easy.

Keeping the streak going counts.

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@J_Tara_ This is a strong backend update.

I like that the Video model tracks status, frames, transcript, and results, feels like you’re thinking about the full processing pipeline, not just file upload.

How are you handling the processing status after upload?

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@oladele94302 Hero sections are a great React practice project.

You get layout, styling, props, and component structure all in one small piece.

What was the hardest part: layout or styling?

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@samridhi92099 Day 8 already, nice 🔥

Coding along with the tutorial is the real move. I’ve learned the hard way that just watching videos makes me feel productive, but building is where the learning actually happens.

What topic are you on right now?

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

@Himanshi1286 Nice progress, 4 LeetCode problems plus starting SVM is not light work.

I like that you’re mixing DSA with actual ML implementation too. Did Hashmaps click faster because of the LeetCode practice?

[Andrej Builds @andrej_builds]

Today I am feeling the same
way as yesterday.

I am doing something that I love!
I am rebuilding my React foundations.

Before we get to what I learned today.

One small thing I'm grateful for today:
the motivation and drive to
keep showing up.

Thank you God.

Now on to Day 2
Today's topic: JSX basics.

The way I understand JSX:

JSX is a syntax that lets us write
markup-looking code inside JavaScript.

It looks like HTML, but it is not HTML.

React uses JSX so we can describe
what the UI should look like,
while still using JavaScript inside it.

The curly braces are used for dynamic values.

So instead of hardcoding everything,
JSX lets the UI change based on data.

One thing I learned today:

JSX is the moment React starts to feel like
HTML and JavaScript working together.

Not one or the other. Both.

That's day 2.
See you tomorrow for day 3.