So, What exactly i'm building?

So, I started this series to build something in the AI + mental health space. What’s that supposed to mean, you may ask? Let me explain.

I’m building a full-stack web app that helps people journal — something I call the Sentiment-Aware Journaling System. It’s a web app that uses AI and NLP (Natural Language Processing) to detect emotions from a person’s daily journal entries. Think of it as your digital emotional companion, helping you track how you feel through words.

💭 “But Kartik, why this… and not some easy chatbot using OpenAI’s API?”

Yeah… I mean, that would be easier. But would I really learn anything from that? I don’t think so.

I want to build something I’d be proud of — something that challenges me and pushes me to get at least 1% better every day.

🧠 Okay, okay… so what will it actually do?

Simple idea:

• You write your thoughts daily.
• The AI model analyzes your emotions.
• The app visualizes your emotional trends over time — helping you see how your mood changes.

Basically, it’s like getting small insights from your own mind.

⚙️ Tech Stack (for now)

I’m learning as I go, so things might evolve. But right now, here’s the plan:

• Frontend: React — for a clean, simple journaling interface
• Backend: Django REST API — for user accounts and data management
• Model Service: FastAPI — to serve my NLP model (BERT / DistilBERT)
• Database: PostgreSQL — for storing journal entries
• ML Models: VADER (baseline) → Fine-tuned BERT on GoEmotions dataset

So yeah… it’s going to be a journey. 😅

SO.....what's your goal is ??🎯

To document my entire progress — from learning Django and APIs to deploying a real AI project.

Here’s the rough timeline:

1. Learn Django & Build the Base App
2. Add NLP Model for Emotion Detection
3. Visualize Emotions with Graphs & Charts
4. Collect Real Feedback & Analyze Accuracy
5. Deploy Everything & Publish Research Paper

By the end, I hope to have both:

• ✅ A working AI-powered journaling system
• ✅ A published research paper explaining it

🧩 Why Follow This Series?

Because I know there are students out there who want to start something in AI, but when they see that huge mountain of technologies, they lose hope before even taking the first step.

I want to break that mountain into small, doable steps. To show that you don’t need to know everything to begin — just curiosity and consistency.

If I can build this from scratch, you can too.