Hey! I'm Mac
Let me tell you how this project came to be.
Learning Spanish has been a goal of mine forever. At 17, armed with a Rosetta Stone CD-ROM, I was convinced I'd be fluent in no time.
Of course, that’s not quite how it went down.
I learned how to say a few simple things — hola, adiós, el perro corre, quiero ir el cine — but it never felt like it was coming together. I’d get started and learn a bit, feel good about it, and then life would get in the way.
Fast forward about a decade to 2018, when I planned a 6 month trip to South America. I was going to learn Spanish this time, no excuses.
Being immersed in the language, I picked up lots of new words and phrases. I could order food, ask for directions, and even strike up conversations with locals.
There was this moment in Buenos Aires – I'm checking into a hotel, chatting with the clerk, when he stops and says "Wait, you're not from here?" He'd seen my passport. It was amazing... until he started speaking at normal speed, and I completely lost the plot.
It was a reminder that learning a language is a journey, not a destination. There’s always more to learn, and it’s easy to get discouraged when you hit a plateau.
When I got back home, the progress I’d made began slipping away. Without daily practice, it was impossible to maintain. Even when I was learning abroad, I found myself wishing for a way to:
- Practice writing in Spanish consistently, not just when motivation struck
- Get immediate feedback on my writing to avoid reinforcing mistakes
- Keep track of vocabulary I'd picked up along the way
- Identify patterns in what I was struggling with
- Actually see my progress instead of just hoping I was improving
That’s when I realized what I needed wasn’t more apps or resources—it was consistency. I needed a way to practice daily, use the words I knew, and get a bird’s-eye view of my progress.
So, I built MySpanishJournal. It’s a simple tool to write in Spanish, get feedback, and track what you know. It works best when pairing it with other learning methods like apps or TV shows to help reinforce the words and phrases you’ve picked up.
If you’ve ever felt stuck or feel that you’re not making progress, I hope this site helps you on your Spanish journey!
I'd love to hear from you! Whether you have feedback, questions, or just want to share your own language learning story – drop me a line.