I’m Derek, a full-stack developer on a mission to build real-world projects the hard way—by breaking things, figuring out why, and then fixing them better. Fresh out of college at the ripe ol’ age of 38 (I took the scenic route) and based in rural Arkansas, I’m carving out my own path in tech, one code snippet at a time. I build websites, backend systems, and—coming soon—my own blogging platform from scratch (don’t worry, you’ll get to watch), sharing the wins and the “uh-oh” moments along the way. If you’re into practical tech insights sprinkled with a bit of trial and error, you’re in the right place.