May 12th, 2022
Through the tail end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 I think I've changed a bit as a person. Self-development is a series of small steps, and it's the culmination of those steps that create who I am today. I remember talking to a friend and joking about how with each step I felt like a piece of software that slowly became less and less buggy.
With that parallel in mind we brainstormed the idea of using the software changelog format for a person's development. It's a way to sort of "track" and reflect on how you've changed as a person.
That conversation was months ago, and I'm happy to say that this idea has blossomed into a small corner of the internet over at kevinzou.xyz/changelog.
changelog follows a psuedo-semantic versioning method for identifying "versions." Given a version in the format of MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH:
Given version "2.2.2" we can determine that it's the 22nd year of my life and it's the second time I felt like something has changed since I turned 22.
There are some small things I'd like to tweak here and there, and then some bigger additions I think would be neat (eg. a footnote system or method to "expand" a change). For now it's in a decent place and I'll just keep adding updates.
Another way that this project could grow is through providing a template for others to use. If this is something that interests you please let me know! I don't expect this to become the next "failure resume," but if you like the idea and want to make your own changelog you absolutely should! I'd also love to chat about any ideas you have about how changelog could improve.
This project isn't anything technically impressive, I think it's just a reminder for myself to think about my journey in a big picture way. There will be ups and downs, some awkward and unpolished spots, but that's life and I wouldn't have it any other way.