The Real Reason I'm Building in Public: A Personal Manifesto
In my last post, I shared the “miserable” results of my first week of building in public. A fair question arises: Why bother? Why would someone come out of nowhere and publicly document a journey, especially when the initial results are so humbling?
The answer is simple: I am doing this for myself. The blog, the posts, the code—they are all part of a system I am building to force my own growth. The fact that I am doing it in public is the accountability engine.
For years, I have held a core philosophy: in a world of constant change, the only winning strategy is to “go with the tide.” This means you don’t need a fixed, ten-year goal. You just need to keep learning, keep digging, and keep moving. Consistency is the goal. One brick at a time.
This project, this “My AI Expeditions,” is the embodiment of that philosophy. It’s not about building one specific product. It’s about building a better version of myself. Here are the real reasons why.
1. To Engineer My Own “First Year”
At every company I’ve joined, the first year is the hardest. It’s a period of intense learning where I have to rapidly close my knowledge gaps. I’ve always found that while this period is frustrating, it’s also when I feel most alive. This project is my way of creating that “first year” challenge for myself, permanently. It’s a structured way to address my gaps in core concepts like DSA and System Design on my own terms.
2. To Let My Work Speak for Me
I am confident in my ability to deliver, but I have never been good at “talking the talk.” Convincing others of my skills in an interview has always been a weakness. My goal is for shibiliareekara.com to become my advocate. I want to build a body of work—code, articles, and systems—that is so clear and valuable that it speaks for itself. No convincing needed.
3. To Master the Modern Stack
My career started with Swift 3. The world is now on SwiftUI and Swift 6 is evolving. To stay relevant and effective, I must keep up. This public journey forces me to learn and implement the latest technologies, not just read about them. The PMS Journey posts will be a live document of my progress from a legacy skillset to a modern one.
4. To Finally Become Full-Stack
I’ve always worked with APIs provided by backend teams. I’ve never built a full system from end to end. This has always felt like a missing piece of the puzzle. By learning and using a BaaS like Supabase, I am finally taking ownership of the entire stack.
5. To Overcome a Lifelong Insecurity
I have always had a lot of thoughts to share, but have been deeply insecure about my writing skills. The emergence of powerful AI tools has been a personal breakthrough. My partnership with my AI assistant is the leverage I needed to finally unlock my voice. The AI Partnership posts will document this collaboration honestly.
6. To Practice for a Dream
One of my long-term goals is to become a confident public speaker. I believe the best way to learn is by doing. Creating content, explaining complex topics simply, and eventually making videos for this project is my practice ground.
7. To Build a Path to Independence
Years ago, I wrote in a diary that I wanted to “retire” from company work by 35. This didn’t mean I wanted to stop working; it meant I wanted to work for myself, as a consultant or independent creator. To do that, I need to build a brand and a set of skills that are undeniably valuable. This expedition is the first step on that path.
This is why I’m here. This is why I’m digging. It’s a journey to build a better engineer, a better communicator, and a more capable person. I invite you to follow along.
This manifesto covers the ‘why’ behind my expedition. The story of how this project started, with a simple phrase written on a whiteboard, is the first chapter of my new “PMS: The Origin” series.
Read Part 1: “Find Your Niche”: How Job Insecurity and AI Pushed Me to Start Building