Why I'm Building Dear Dairy: A Mental Health Journal App

Hi! I'm Ashwini — a developer, student, and someone who’s always dreaming up meaningful tech projects.
I want to share something close to my heart:
A personal project I’ve been quietly planning for a while, and I’m finally getting ready to build it.
It’s called “Dear Dairy” — yes, like a journal, but with a little extra warmth, intelligence, and maybe even some cartoon charm.
Where It All Started
This idea came to me during a rough patch when journaling really helped.
But I always felt like the process could be… more human. More interactive. Less lonely.
That’s how Dear Dairy was born in my head — a mental health journal app that doesn’t just store your thoughts, but reflects with you, supports you, and grows with you.
I originally wanted to build it for a college project, but the title overlapped with another. So I ended up creating something else — but the idea of Dear Dairy stayed with me.
Now, with more experience, I’m ready to do this for real.
What is Dear Dairy?
It's a personal mental health journaling app with a twist:
A cartoon character (starting with Kermit 🐸) greets you every day
You can record how you’re feeling: sad, anxious, excited, etc.
Write journal entries — with text, stickers, pictures, even videos (in future)
Build daily habits and track personal goals
Get reflective AI-generated questions based on your writing
View streaks, progress, mood graphs, and consistency
All focused on helping you understand yourself better
And yes — everything is private, encrypted, and deletable. That’s a core goal.
What I’m Planning Tech-Wise
I’ve spent time researching the right tech stack because I want this to be a real, deployable, scalable app — not just a weekend experiment.
Here’s the current stack:
Frontend: React Native (works on Android & iOS)
Backend: Node.js + Express (fast, scalable)
Database: MongoDB Atlas (great for journal-style unstructured data)
AI Services: Separate backend service for emotion & question generation
Security: Encrypted journal storage, user auth, full data deletion on demand
Deployment: Cloud-hosted using Render/Vercel/MongoDB Cloud
Why I’m Blogging About It
Because:
I want to track my progress
I want to hold myself accountable
I want to share what I learn — even the messy parts
I hope someone out there building something similar finds it helpful
I’ll be blogging the journey — from the first “hello world” to every stuck moment, architecture decision, and finally, the launch
What’s Next?
Right now, I’m juggling this idea alongside my internship (which is intense!). So I’ll officially start building in a few weeks.
I was initially confused whether to start with the AI part or the main journaling flow — but I’ve decided to first set up the foundational app:
Setup the database schema
Frontend + backend repo setup
Add authentication
Build a simple notes-like journaling feature (text + pictures)
Once that’s stable, I’ll dive into:
AI model selection, training, and testing
Researching psychology — how journaling affects the brain, how reflection works
Collecting useful insights to even write a research paper on it later
Yes, it’s a lot. But that’s exactly why I’m blogging — so I don’t feel overwhelmed or abandon it halfway.
This is my long-term goal — maybe a 2–3 year journey.
And I want to take it slow, but get each step right.
Blogging about it now makes me feel like it’s real.
Because it is.
Thanks for reading — and if you're curious, stay tuned.
There’s more coming, one journal entry at a time
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