After years of frustration with broken tutorials and inaccessible platforms, I started building Alexandria — a self-paced, neurodivergent-friendly way to learn code. Now, it needs room to grow. When the System Leaves You Behind I didn’t come from opportunity. I came from instability, anxiety, and a system that gave up on me before I even knew what I was capable of. My upbringing wasn’t easy — in ways I won’t detail here — but the outcome was clear: I learned to survive, not to thrive. Confidence, focus, self-esteem — those were slow to grow. And school? School was the nail in the coffin. The classroom wasn’t a place to learn. It was a place to get sorted. If you kept up, great. If you didn’t, you were labeled, tracked, forgotten. And I didn’t keep up — not because I lacked curiosity or potential, but because I didn’t learn like the system expected me to. I grew up loving tech. I taught myself HTML, CSS, JavaScript. I jailbroke devices, read tech forums, modded games. But when I tried to cross into real programming — Python, logic, abstraction — everything in me collapsed. I couldn’t follow the way it was taught. I froze. I spiraled. And every time I tried to try again, I heard the same message: You’re not cut out for this. You’re not cut out for this. And for a long time, I believed it. The System Broke Me. So I Started Writing My Way Out. After more than a decade in hospitality — and years battling depression, anxiety, and burnout — I reached a breaking point. I had nothing left to give to anyone else. So I finally gave something to myself: permission to try again. This time, I had a scholarship to study computer science. But I knew the learning systems hadn’t changed. And if I went into this degree relying on tutorials and factory-made edtech platforms, I’d burn out again. So I started building a tool to teach myself — the way I needed to be taught. I That tool became Alexandria. Alexandria What Alexandria Is (Right Now) Alexandria isn’t just an idea. It’s a tool I’m actively building to help myself get through a Computer Science degree — on my own terms, with no team, no funding, and no fallback. It’s not finished. It’s not polished. But it works — and it’s real. works At its core, Alexandria is a personal learning engine. It helps me study Python the way my brain needs: context-first, visually calm, anxiety-aware, and interruption-tolerant. It gives me: 📚 Structured, progressive Python modules focused on understanding before syntax
🎧 A zero-setup, in-browser Python editor, so I don’t burn out just trying to run my first script
🧠 Accessibility-first UI (TTS, dyslexia-friendly fonts, color contrast modes)
🛠️ A custom Developer Mode, designed specifically for me — to make live changes, test tweaks, write automatic patch notes, and keep evolving Alexandria as I learn 📚 Structured, progressive Python modules focused on understanding before syntax understanding before syntax 🎧 A zero-setup, in-browser Python editor, so I don’t burn out just trying to run my first script 🧠 Accessibility-first UI (TTS, dyslexia-friendly fonts, color contrast modes) 🛠️ A custom Developer Mode, designed specifically for me — to make live changes, test tweaks, write automatic patch notes, and keep evolving Alexandria as I learn Developer Mode Every part of Alexandria exists to solve problems I ran into — again and again — with other platforms. It’s built from frustration, coded through self-doubt, and held together by nothing but sheer insistence that this can be better. There’s no team. No money. No boilerplate startup stack. Just me, pushing through my studies, and coding my way to something stronger. What's Still Coming A lot of what I want to build — like the learning journal, a fully modular lesson system, and more adaptive UX features — is still in progress. The journal is especially critical. I need it to offload mental clutter and track questions, hesitations, and breakthroughs along the way. learning journal But to build that — and finish the MVP in time for the hackathon — I need support. Not in theory, but in the form of actual infrastructure: licenses, hosting, audio tools, development time. Right now, I'm living at the poverty line. There's no buffer. Every hour spent coding Alexandria is borrowed time. I’m not asking for charity. I’m building something real. But to finish this leg of the journey, I need help. 🔥 Why Now — and How You Can Help Alexandria has been accepted into a global hackathon — the kind of platform where early-stage tools gain visibility, traction, and real support. It starts June 1st. The MVP is due by June 30th. June 30th I’m entering solo. No cofounder. No funding. No safety net. Just lived experience, borrowed time, and a working prototype that speaks louder than any pitch deck ever could. This month is critical. Between now and June 30th, I need to lock in hosting, pay for essential dev tools, and carve out focused time to ship a functional MVP. If you want to help Alexandria reach that milestone — here’s how: If you want to help Alexandria reach that milestone — here’s how: ☕ Buy Me a Coffee
💸 Support via PayPal ☕ Buy Me a Coffee Buy Me a Coffee 💸 Support via PayPal Support via PayPal Even small contributions go directly toward getting Alexandria across the finish line. Or: share this with someone who tried and gave up.Someone who started late.Someone still looking for a way in. That’s who Alexandria is for.And that’s who this helps. Vision Statement We keep saying we want more inclusive, human-centered education.But nothing changes. Alexandria is my answer to that — not in theory, but in code.It’s not perfect. It’s not finished. But it’s real. And it’s growing.Just like I am. 🚀 Core Vision Alexandria isn’t just a learning tool — it’s the blueprint for a new kind of education. Alexandria isn’t just a learning tool — it’s the blueprint for a new kind of education. It was born from frustration. From failure. From the realization that people like me weren’t failing to learn — we were being failed by rigid, outdated systems. Education today still assumes everyone learns the same way, at the same pace, under the same pressures. But real learners are diverse, emotional, inconsistent, neurodiverse, multilingual, and shaped by unique life experiences. Alexandria’s vision is to redesign education around the individual — not the institution. Alexandria’s vision is to redesign education around the individual — not the institution. To make learning systems that adjust to your mind, your energy, your language, your context.Not the other way around. This platform is just the beginning — a modular foundation.In time, it will evolve into a living framework where learners, teachers, researchers, and creators co-shape their own educational journeys. It’s not just about learning to code.It’s about reclaiming the joy of learning itself. Alexandria is the proof that education can be adaptive, inclusive, emotionally intelligent — and still rigorous.  That’s the future I’m building toward. One line of code at a time. Thanks for reading. If you’ve ever felt like the system was never built for you — you weren’t wrong. But you’re not alone.

This story contains new, firsthand information uncovered by the writer.

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

I’m Building Alexandria — a Human-Centered Coding Tool Born From the Edges

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