“Every developer builds a portfolio. I almost stopped there — but something didn’t sit right.”

I’ve seen it time and time again.
A clean landing page. A few projects. Some contact details. Maybe even a shiny animation or two.

And that’s it.

A portfolio, by the textbook.
Enough to tick the box.
Enough to maybe land the job.

But deep down, I knew I wasn’t just building web pages — I was building a journey. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this:

A portfolio shows what you can do.
A blog shows who you are.

I’m Jericho Dela Cruz, a web developer from the Philippines. I didn’t grow up with all the answers. I wasn’t the kid who knew how to code at 10. I wasn’t born with a MacBook and Wi-Fi.

But I fell in love with code anyway.

Like many developers, I started with tutorials. Messy files. Broken pages. More 404 errors than confidence. And when I finally built my first portfolio, I felt proud — for a moment. Then it hit me:

Is this really me? Or just another dev site with the same template, same tone, same everything?

That’s when I decided to do more.

I didn’t just want to show what I built — I wanted to tell why I built it.
The nights I couldn’t sleep because I was fixing bugs.
The excitement of deploying my first live site.
The burnout. The breakthroughs.
The imposter syndrome. The small wins that felt big.

So I added a blog to my portfolio.
Not to teach — but to talk.
Not to be loud — but to be real.

“If you’re not lucky, create your own luck.”
That’s the philosophy I live by. And this blog is part of that luck I’m creating.

Why It Matters Now More Than Ever

The truth is: basic portfolios are everywhere.
You could launch one in an hour with a template.

But connection? Authenticity?
That’s rare.

Clients don’t just hire skills anymore.
They hire stories.
They want to know who’s behind the screen.
They want to see the human behind the code — what drives you, what shaped you, how you solve problems not just with code, but with character.

This blog is where I write not just as a developer, but as Jericho Dela Cruz — someone who’s building a life, not just a career. Someone who wants to share what it’s like to grow as a dev in this messy, exciting, ever-changing world of tech.

And if you’re a fellow dev?
I hope this inspires you to turn your own portfolio into something more.
Not just a resume — but a reflection.