DEV Community: Samuel Olakunde

A Glimpse of What I Built While Rebuilding My Foundation

Samuel Olakunde — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 07:53:48 +0000

Before the five projects I'm currently working through in my rebuilding phase, I spent some time building multiple smaller projects and experimenting with different ideas.

One of them was a concert invitation website.

At the time, I was also trying to improve the visual quality of my websites and push myself beyond just making something functional. Funnily enough, that process taught me quite a lot.

I got to explore some of the newer things that had been added or improved in HTML, CSS, and Tailwind CSS.

For CSS especially, I found myself using and experimenting with things I had either never used before or honestly never thought about using.

One small example was this custom Tailwind utility:

/* Injecting this into the Tailwind config via @layer utilities */

.blend-img {
@apply grayscale mix-blend-multiply w-full h-full object-cover;
}

This allowed me to combine a few utilities into a reusable class while creating a particular visual treatment for an image.

"grayscale" removes the image's colour
"mix-blend-multiply" allows the image to blend with the elements behind it
"w-full h-full" makes it fill its container
"object-cover" ensures the image maintains its proportions while covering the available space

It was a small thing, but experimenting with effects like this helped me think more about how code and design can work together.

Coming from a graphic design background, I've been increasingly interested in bringing some of that visual thinking into the websites I build instead of treating development and design as two completely separate things.

That said, after all that building, I still noticed something I wasn't happy with:

The dependency was still there.

I was building.

I was learning.

I was completing projects.

But I could still see places where I relied too much on AI and tutorials instead of trusting my own understanding and problem-solving ability.

That realization is part of what eventually led to my current rebuilding phase.

So this isn't one of the five projects I'm currently working through.

It's simply a glimpse of something I created earlier while going back and rebuilding with HTML and CSS from scratch before everything that followed.

And while my foundation still wasn't as solid as I wanted it to be, I definitely learned a lot along the way.

I guess that's part of the journey.

Sometimes you don't realize how much you've learned until you stop and look back at something you built.

And sometimes, you don't realize what you still need to improve until you do the same.

What I Learned From Rebuilding My Development Foundation

Samuel Olakunde — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 07:01:09 +0000

Rebuilding my development foundation sounded like a step backwards at first.

But after going through it, I think it might have been one of the best decisions I've made.

Before the five projects I mentioned in my previous post, I've worked on countless others.

An Arabic BMI calculator.

A solar cost-per-use and usage calculator.

3–4 dashboards.

And several other projects I can't even remember off the top of my head.

I also took a course where I deliberately went back to the beginning with HTML and worked through a lot of projects — probably close to ten or so.

I learned a lot.

I implemented a lot.

I even picked up some advanced CSS concepts along the way.

I'll actually be showing one of those in my next post, where I'm combining some of what I've learned from graphic design with development.

But even after all of that, I still noticed something I wasn't comfortable with:

I was still dependent on AI.

Not completely.

But enough for me to know that my foundation wasn't as solid as I wanted it to be.

So I decided to start again.

Not from zero — but from the foundation.

AI should be your partner, not your dependency.

This has probably been one of my biggest lessons.

Rebuilding with AI is foolish if you're using AI as a dependency.

Especially if you haven't learned how to use it properly.

If your prompts are essentially asking AI to spoon-feed you everything, you're not really rebuilding your ability to develop.

You're rebuilding your ability to ask AI to develop for you.

And there's a big difference.

For a solo developer or someone teaching themselves, I think AI can be one of the best mentors you can have — if you use it correctly.

Let it challenge you.

Let it explain things.

Let it point you in the right direction.

Let it review your work.

But don't let it become the person doing the thinking for you.

AI should extend your ability, not replace it.

Tutorial hell is real.

At some point, you have to stop watching and start building.

I've learned a lot from tutorials.

But there's a point where another tutorial isn't going to give you the experience that actually building something will.

You have to get stuck.

You have to make bad decisions.

You have to break things.

You have to stare at your own code and wonder what on earth you were thinking. 😅

That's where some of the real learning happens.

Revisiting the foundation isn't stupid.

This is probably the biggest lesson for me.

I used to think going back to basics meant I wasn't progressing.

Now I see it differently.

The greatness of a building is limited by the strength of its foundation.

The foundation might look small compared to the building eventually built on top of it, but that doesn't make it less important.

So that's what I'm doing now.

I'm rebuilding in phases.

The current phase consists of four stages, and I'm currently on the 5th project of Phase One.

This phase is heavily project-based and focused mainly on vanilla JavaScript.

The goal isn't just to finish projects.

It's to find out whether my foundation is actually strong enough for me to move into backend development.

And honestly, even after just 2–3 months of approaching development this way, I've already realized how much I've gained.

And yes... the projects are still embarrassing. 😂

I've built a lot of things during this process.

Some of them are probably the lowest-quality projects I've ever made.

I'm not proud of them yet.

I'm actually still ashamed to share some of them.

But I will.

Because those projects are part of the evidence that I'm improving.

And maybe that's another lesson:

Experience is the best teacher.

In my case, I'm learning from my own experience — and some of that experience hasn't been very good. 😂

But that's fine.

I'd rather have a collection of imperfect projects that taught me something than a collection of tutorials I watched and forgot.

So, what have I learned from rebuilding?

AI is a partner, not a dependency.
Tutorial hell is real. Get out there and build.
Revisiting your foundation isn't stupid if it's what you need.
Don't underestimate a small foundation.
Experience teaches you things tutorials can't.

I'm still rebuilding.

Still learning.

Still making questionable projects.

But this time, I'm paying attention to how I'm learning, not just how much I'm building.

And that's making a bigger difference than I expected.

Hello, it has been a while 👋🏾

Samuel Olakunde — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 06:38:12 +0000

It has been a long time since I was active in this space.

The last time I was here, I was doing a 90-day development challenge for Tasty Hub.

Funnily enough, I officially stopped at Day 4 of 90 here 😅

But I actually made it to Day 9 before I stopped completely.😂(I believe some of you will say what is the difference)

Looking back, though, I learned quite a lot from that experience.

So, after more than a year away, I thought I'd come back and share some of what I've learned, what I've been working on, the mistakes I've made, and a whole lot of other things from the past year.

Here are a few lessons that have stuck with me:

Starting without adequate planning is sometimes just preparing to fail.

I was excited to start, but excitement isn't the same thing as preparation.

I didn't properly account for what I needed, how I would sustain the challenge, or what could realistically get in the way.

That taught me that before building, I need to understand what I'm building, what I need, and how I'm going to sustain the process.

Burnout is real — and it can start very quietly.

It doesn't always look like suddenly being unable to do anything.

Sometimes it's the little things you keep pushing aside.

Lack of resources.

Mental fatigue.

Poor planning.

Trying to force progress.

Eventually, those little things compound.

And that brought me back to the first lesson: you have to build in a way that you can actually sustain.

AI can give you false confidence when your foundation isn't strong.

This one was probably one of the biggest lessons for me.

Using AI when you barely understand what you're doing can make you feel like you understand more than you actually do.

You get something working, but you haven't necessarily developed the ability to build it yourself.

The problem isn't AI.

The problem is using it as a substitute for understanding.

That made me realize that I need to know what I'm capable of without AI before I use AI to extend what I can do with it.

After a setback, you eventually have to pick yourself back up.

I won't lie — this past year taught me to embrace that reality.

People can encourage you.

People can advise you.

People can help you.

But at some point, you have to decide to start again.

And that's what I've done.

My foundation needed to be revisited.

This one changed how I think about learning development.

I've started thinking about software development almost like building construction.

Foundation → Structure → Scaffolding → Building

If the foundation isn't solid, adding more floors doesn't solve the problem.

So instead of rushing to learn more and more technologies, I'm going back, strengthening my fundamentals, and building from there.

And this time, I'm approaching things in phases.

I've already restarted.

I'm currently five projects in, and I'm deliberately not giving myself arbitrary constraints like I did before.

Because I'm human.

Unexpected things will happen.

Life will happen.

The goal isn't to build a perfect streak.

The goal is to keep building.

So, after being away for more than a year...

I'm back.

And this time, I'm building differently.

More projects.
More lessons.
More mistakes.
More things to share.

Let's see where this goes. 🚀

Day 4 — Recipe Cards Component Complete 🎉

Samuel Olakunde — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 21:24:35 +0000

Hi all,

I’ve wrapped up the RecipeCard component layout today:

Highlights

Card structure: placeholder image, title, description, “View Recipe” button
Styled with Tailwind: shadows, rounded corners, smooth hover states
Packaged as a reusable React component for my TastyHub app

Next Steps

Add star rating UI
Hook up live recipe data from my API
Ensure accessibility and keyboard navigation

On Day 5, I’ll start building out the grid layout and prepare for interactivity.

Feedback and suggestions always welcome!

Day 3 — Mobile Responsiveness & Recipe Cards 🏃‍♂️

Samuel Olakunde — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 21:22:09 +0000

Hey everyone 👋,

Today I focused on making TastyHub look great on mobile:

What I Accomplished

Responsive Header & Search: Improved breakpoints for nav and search bar
RecipeCard Component: Created the card skeleton (image placeholder, title, description)
Tailwind Tweaks: Used sm:, md:, and lg: modifiers to ensure a fluid mobile experience

Takeaways

Mobile-first styling saves headaches later
Tailwind’s utility classes are super fast for responsive layouts
Even without full data or ratings, structure matters

Next: Day 4—complete the RecipeCard with star ratings and hover states!

Stay tuned, and let me know if you have tips for responsive cards!

100DaysOfCode #ReactJS #TailwindCSS #ResponsiveDesign #FrontendChallenge

Day 2 — TastyHub Header, Tailwind Setup, and Real Frustration 😅

Samuel Olakunde — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 21:55:22 +0000

Hey devs 👋,

Here’s what I got done on Day 2 of my 90-day frontend challenge:

✅ What I Did

Installed and configured TailwindCSS with Vite (finally working 💥)
Set up the base layout for the Navbar component
Added a search bar UI — small step, big lesson

🧠 What I Learned

Getting the environment right matters a lot
Debugging is part of learning, not something to skip
PostCSS and module errors? Yeah... they’ll test your patience

⚙️ Stack

React, Vite, TailwindCSS, GitHub

I’m building a recipe web app called TastyHub — and I’ll post again once I finish the hero section.

Feel free to connect or drop your advice 🙏

100DaysOfCode #React #TailwindCSS #BuildInPublic #Frontend

Day 1 of My 90-Day Frontend Journey: Why I’m Learning React & Tailwind in Public

Samuel Olakunde — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 22:50:32 +0000

Hey everyone 👋,

I’ve officially started a 90-day journey to grow as a frontend developer. My first project is called TastyHub — a modern recipe site using React and TailwindCSS.

I’m doing this challenge to:

Build real-world UI components
Practice writing better, cleaner code
Document my progress and stay consistent

Right now, I’ve set up my development environment, structured my components, and started building out the navbar.

Feel free to follow along or give feedback. I’ll be posting every few days with updates.

Let’s build something tasty! 🍲