There are projects you build to get a grade.
There are projects you build to land a job.
And then… there are projects you build because your soul needed it.
For me, “Buddy” was that project.
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💭 The Story Behind the Code
During my final year, life got really heavy. Between academic pressure, family struggles, and feeling like I was carrying the weight of everything alone… my mental health took a hit. I slipped into a quiet kind of depression — the type that hides behind smiles and “I’m fine” messages.
I didn’t really have anyone I felt safe talking to. But I had code.
One night, while staring blankly at my laptop, I had a simple thought:
“What if I could build something that listens to me when nobody else can?”
That was the spark that became Buddy — a mental health companion web app designed to support, comfort, and encourage users in moments when they feel unheard.
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🧠 What Buddy Does
Buddy isn’t just a chatbot. It’s designed to be a holistic mental wellness companion with features that reflect real emotional needs:
• 📝 VentSpace — a private journal space, inspired by the Notes app, where users can freely express their thoughts without judgment.
• 👥 Emergency Contacts — users can set up to three trusted contacts who get alerted in moments of distress.
• 🌈 Mood Check-in — daily mood logging to help users become more emotionally aware.
• 📈 Mood Tracking Dashboard — beautifully visualized with charts to see emotional trends over time.
• 💬 AI-Powered Chat — a warm, context-aware conversation with “Buddy,” designed to adapt its tone to your mood (e.g., soft when you’re sad, hype when you’re excited).
• 🧘 Mindfulness & Motivation — meditation guides, daily inspirational quotes, and a community section for support.
• 👤 Profile Customization — making the experience feel personal, because mental health support should never feel generic.
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⚡ The Tech Behind Buddy
I built Buddy using a MERN-style structure, with a clean and responsive frontend and a secure backend:
• Frontend: HTML, CSS, and vanilla JS — fully responsive for mobile use.
• Backend: Node.js, Express, MongoDB (via Mongoose)
• AI Chat: Integrated through OpenRouter API (hidden securely in .env)
• Hosting: Vercel for frontend, Render for backend
• Version Control: Git + GitHub for collaboration and deployment
Every line of code wasn’t just a technical step — it was therapeutic. It gave me something to hold on to when everything else felt unstable.
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🫶 Why This Project Means Everything to Me
I didn’t build Buddy because I wanted to impress anyone.
I built it because I needed it.
It became the thing I turned to when I couldn’t explain how I felt out loud. It became my late-night friend, my quiet listener, my little act of self-rescue.
And now, sharing it publicly, my hope is that Buddy can also be a light for someone else who’s struggling in silence. Even if it helps one person feel a little less alone, it’ll be worth every sleepless night I spent building it.
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🚀 What I Learned
This project taught me more than any textbook ever could:
• How to ship a full-stack app end-to-end.
• How to secure API keys, set up routes, and structure scalable codebases.
• How to make responsive designs that prioritize user experience.
• How to integrate AI ethically and meaningfully.
• And most importantly: how powerful technology can be when it comes from a place of empathy.
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💼 A Message to Recruiters & Fellow Devs
To any recruiter reading this: this isn’t just a portfolio piece. It’s a part of my story. If you’re looking for a developer who brings heart, resilience, and creativity to her work — that’s me.
To my fellow devs who might be struggling quietly: your feelings are valid. And sometimes, building something for yourself can end up being the most meaningful thing you ever create. Don’t underestimate that.
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🌐 Check It Out
👉 Live App: buddy-app-six.vercel.app
👉 GitHub: github.com/Aisha-Aliyu/buddy-app
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This isn’t the end of Buddy — it’s just the beginning. ✨
I plan to keep improving it, adding new features, and maybe one day turning it into something that can genuinely support thousands of people around the world.
Thank you for reading my story 💛
— Aisha Aliyu
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