Two months of daily blogging and today brought the reality check I didn't see coming.
I've been wrestling with whether to build a frontend for my project. Spent weeks learning React, feeling decent about my skills. Then I discovered an AI tool that built exactly what I needed - except it was better than anything I could create after 10 projects.
The Part Everyone Misses
My first reaction was the usual developer existential crisis. Then something weird happened.
While I was designing and thinking through the user experience, I kept considering what people would actually need. Those insights became my prompts to the AI. The tool executed perfectly, but the human thinking made it work.
But here's what really got me: most people don't know how to use AI properly. Ask it to be critical and it says no to everything. Ask it to be neutral and it becomes this annoyingly positive cheerleader.
The real skill? Being human enough to balance your prompts.
Beyond the Replacement Fear
Everyone's scared AI will replace developers. But they're missing the point entirely.
AI amplifies human thinking - it doesn't replace it. Your ability to understand problems and ask the right questions matters more than your syntax skills ever will.
The difference between getting automated away and becoming irreplaceable? Knowing how to be human in your prompts.
The Weight of Expectations
Got a text from my dad today: "good morning little champ." I'm turning 19 soon and that phrase hits different now. Makes you question if you're actually living up to the faith people have placed in you.
Physical Reality Check
My wrist started hurting again after hours at the laptop. Yesterday it was fine, but the extended screen time caught up. Sometimes your body forces the mental shift your brain was avoiding.
Moving from high activity to zero in any domain is brutal. But sometimes that's exactly what needs to happen.
What Comes Next
Next week starts what I'm calling my pre winter arc. Sunday to Saturday, seven days that need to set the tone for everything after.
I don't want to be another programmer who gets automated away. I want to be the founder who understands how to make AI actually useful - not just impressive.
The future belongs to people who can be human enough to balance what AI can and can't do.
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