Welcome to “White Belt” - My Journey Of Curiosity and Discovery
Hello, and thank you for stopping by! I’m Juan Franceschini, the creator of “White Belt.” This website serves as a canvas for my passions and a mechanism to keep me accountable. I have a deep love for coding, building tools, writing, and learning new things as quickly and efficiently as possible.
I was born and raised in Uruguay - a country named after a river (this is yet another Jorge Drexler reference you probably didn’t need!) Over the past decade, I have made a second home in the United States. I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with an MBA in 2016. Since then, I’ve been incredibly lucky to have spent 5 years in Seattle, WA (where my two daughters were born), and now I’m in Miami, FL (where I receive probably 100 times as much Vitamin D).
Curious about my work? Feel free to explore the projects right from the home screen. I am excited to share my journey with you and hope you find inspiration in these pages.
Where it all began
I’m thrilled you’re here and hope you enjoy your stay. In his latest album, Jorge Drexler, my favorite artist on the planet, released a single titled “Cinturón Blanco” (White Belt in English). I stumbled upon the inspiration behind this song in a random interview. Drexler mentioned that someone had told him about a martial arts dojo where both novices (those attending their first classes) and those who had achieved mastery (a level beyond the black belt) were awarded white belts. According to legend, reaching mastery means returning to a beginner’s mindset to continue advancing in the craft. In this dojo, amidst a sea of white belts, it’s impossible to distinguish between the beginners and the masters.
Despite my efforts, I haven’t been able to fact-check this story. But that’s not the point. I instantly fell in love with the underlying message: Both groups—the beginners and the experts—possess an indistinguishable openness, humility, and eagerness to learn that enable them to elevate their skills.
I created this personal website as a means to an end, almost like a meta-artifact. I prefer to “learn backwards” from projects and challenges, sometimes starting from a place where I have no idea where to begin. Documenting this journey is my way of making the learning process more tangible and accessible to others who might share similar interests.
Welcome to WHITE BELT! The site is a work in progress and always will be.
Juan