Finally a new update on this blog!

Earlier this year I dropped a blog post talking about my plans for the year. As expected, my ideas haven't all quite panned out yet, but some projects have definitely come true.

DCIM Portfolio Website

My website for my DCIM minor class was completed, and you can check it out here: https://lizlorena.com/DCIM. Honestly by the time I'm writing this, I'd say that I've improved my design skills even more and would have been more creative with my design choices. One thing I liked that I did was use jQuery to filter projects based on the skills I used in those projects.

Theme Store

I still haven't added any themes to the theme store, but I did update the terms of service and privacy policy. See it here: https://github.com/lizberberena/themes.

Log Out: A Cyber Harassment Survival Guide

My DCIM capstone project website came out as planned and can be checked out here: https://lizlorena.com/logout. I'm honestly so proud of the construction of this website. I managed to capture the design of the current Kiwi Farms website perfectly, I think. I definitely want to add onto this website sometime in the future and create similar websites - albeit on less serious topics. This is partly due to new inspiration by the video game fan sites of Wurm Online and Ultima Online by game artist and streamer Andrea Fryer (Katspurr on YouTube). This segues into the next project...

Rampage Information Database

This was going to be an informational website similar to SchoolShooters.info by Peter Langman, Ph.D, but focussed on all rampage attacks including stabbings, bombings, shootings, etc. I have cancelled this project because it would require an immense amount of work seeing as, disturbingly, the data increases far too quickly for me to ever be able to keep up.

Vplay: Children's Edutational Mobile Platform

The capstone project for my ITI course developed into a really cool project aimed towards turning the phone and tablet screentime of children ages 3 to 7 into something more productive. You can read more about our platform on the website I made for it here: https://lizlorena.com/vplay. My involvement in the project included coding and designing the website, designing flowcharts for some of the games and the app, and drawing the initial mockups of the mascot. I felt like my design skills got much stronger here.

Super Secret Indie Video Game

The first idea that my boyfriend and I came up with is cancelled for now, but we have many more ideas were that one came from. At first we wanted to make some of our own games as practice separately, but we're thinking of working together on something instead because we find it much easier to keep ourselves focused if we work in pairs, since we'll treat this as a kind of hobby thing that could blossom into something successful. It's also much easier if we split the work.

Conclusion

I'm happy that I was able to complete my projects that had a deadline, but I'm not happy that I haven't been able to complete my personal projects yet. Following my graduation in May, I've been very down about what I want to do with my life. Sitting in front of the computer for hours on end just trying to make up my mind about what to start and what to continue has done me more harm than good. However, I think for once I'm just gonna do what I wanna do and be myself. How about that.

With this comes... more ideas for more projects! That's right - my brain just doesn't quit. I'm going to cancel some old projects that won't work anymore and elaborate on my project ideas so I actually have content to write about. I still have a backlog of projects that I'd love to write about, and hopefully you'll get to see them soon.

Things I'll be doing include:

• Drawing anthro OCs how I want and when I want
• Making websites for fun
• Writing down all my story and game ideas without a care
• Posting on here about whatever makes me happy
• Working with my boyfriend on games so we keep each other on track
• Engaging more with others in a fulfilling community of my choosing
• Maybe making devlog videos, but a YouTube channel isn't that important and shouldn't be stressful
• Getting a job hopefully by September

Here's to a brand new start in adulthood!