Inspiration
We as students wanted to implement a way to self reflect in a fun, intuitive and meaningful way, we wanted for people to be able to keep track of their own lives through more than just pictures or videos, such as journalism. We wanted to introduce a deeper, personal connection through this journalism, but this came with the issues of overcoming writers block, being consistent and figuring out what to write about, to tackle this problem, we merged our idea with an AI assistant to prompt the user when necessary and aid in coming up with ideas by offering insightful question, creative ideas, and trying to keep the user consistent. Through our web app, we want to inspire people to not only focus on reflecting on their own daily lives but also gain insight on themselves to contribute to their personal growth and their well being. This app is not only meant to be a journal but also a mental health companion for those who need a safe space to vent and even gain support. We believe mental health is an increasingly critical topic, one that's not talked about enough even in the modern world, the students and young adults of our society fall under much duress, due to the academic, social and personal pressures.
What it does
Living Journal is an AI-powered journaling companion designed to make self-reflection more engaging, accessible, and deeply meaningful. By intelligently suggesting thought-provoking prompts and reflective questions, it guides users through the process of journaling, helping them uncover insights, process emotions, and track personal growth with ease.
Whether you’re a seasoned journaler or someone who struggles to put thoughts into words, Living Journal removes the intimidation factor and transforms writing into a seamless and enriching habit. It bridges the gap between intention and action, making this profoundly beneficial practice feel more natural and rewarding.
How we built it
The AI assistant powering Living Journal is built on cutting-edge technology, leveraging the OpenAI API to generate insightful and personalized journaling prompts. The application architecture is designed for efficiency and scalability, featuring a robust Python back-end and a dynamic React front-end for a seamless user experience.
The Flask framework serves as the backbone of the server, efficiently handling API requests, user interactions, and data processing. This combination ensures fast, reliable, and intuitive functionality, allowing users to engage in AI-assisted journaling without friction. With a modern tech stack optimized for performance, Living Journal delivers an interactive and intelligent writing experience that evolves with the user’s needs.
Challenges we ran into
We faced several unexpected challenges that tested our adaptability and determination. A major setback occurred when two of our laptops suddenly stopped working, adding to the difficulty of tackling our first-ever hackathon. Additionally, as we were new to React, JavaScript, and server development, we had to learn and implement these technologies on the fly, all while working under intense time constraints. We also struggled initially with an idea, but once we simplified out thought processes and brainstormed problems we ourselves wanted solved, we came up with Living Journal.
Despite these hurdles, we embraced the challenge, leveraging teamwork, creative problem-solving, and rapid learning to push forward. Through continuous iteration and a willingness to adapt, we successfully overcame technical obstacles and built a functional solution, proving our ability to learn, innovate, and persevere under pressure.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Successfully completing the hackathon with a fully functional product was a rewarding achievement, especially given the challenges we faced. Along the way, we gained hands-on experience in integrating AI into projects, improving our skills in API usage, full-stack development, and problem-solving under pressure. This experience not only expanded our technical knowledge but also strengthened our ability to adapt and collaborate effectively in a fast-paced environment.
What we learned
We learned React and Flask while building our project, only 1 of our members had any sort of actual experience with React, but we all came out confident in our abilities to work with both. We also all had our first experience integrating AI into a practical code and that was a difficult journey but it taught us a lot on the limitations of AI and what it can be potentially used for in applications.
What's next for Living Journal
We would like to add a fully functional calendar to track and save mood data, along with enhanced gamification features to encourage users to engage with the app more frequently.
Additionally, while we wanted to keep the main principles of journaling at the forefront of out app (without forcing any information from the user, seeming overly therapeutic, etc.), we are open to the idea of adding some option therapy features for those who would be interested.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.