Building Chronicles, Act 1:

I've always thought of myself as a builder, but lately, I've been humbled by the sheer complexity of it all. So, I'm starting this series to share the journey — the good, the bad, and the slightly terrifying.

Let's talk about Database Design. Never in my life did I think it could be this complex. To every 'database engineers' I've ever met, you have my sincerest apologies: I guess I underestimated how grueling databases can be 😔 . The journey from high-level decisions to the nitty-gritty details is humbling. I've realized it's not just about the 'hows' but the 'whys'.

• Should I use one table with 40 columns or divide it into multiple tables inheriting from one base type?
• The countless 'database migrations' (gone are the days I could just DROP DATABASE and start over... 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩, I have active users now
• And don't even get me started on relationships (ForeignKeys, BelongsTo, HasMany, I know Sequelize hates to see me coming 🙃 )

Then there's deployment. To all the DevOps engineers out there (Emmanuel Bakare, Divine Odazie et al), this is my formal apology. DevOps is not just 'glorified backend'—it's a whole different beast. You deserve not just flowers, but the entire meadow. 💐

• Docker isn't lovely; it's a necessary evil.
• If I hear 'Kubernetes' one more time, I might just grow another grey hair.
• And let's not forget the anxiety of managing secrets for different environments (local, staging). Shoutout to secret managers like Doppler for saving my sanity. I hear Infisical is also pretty neat.

Despite the hurdles, it's honestly a blast. There's a real joy in seeing everything come together and take shape. I'm loving the way this project is shaping up and the fact that I have been able to find people to collaborate with. All in all, it’s been a thrilling experience.