Week 1 new class

During week 1, I focused on designing and building the Hangman game in Java. This was my first chance to really dust off my object-oriented programming habits and apply encapsulation, creating separate classes and methods that worked together cleanly. I built small reusable methods for guessing letters, tracking hints, and managing the word array, which helped me see how organized code makes debugging far easier. Setting up branches in GitHub and merging changes through IntelliJ was another learning curve but seeing my commits stack up and actually run without breaking anything was rewarding. What challenged me most was managing so many moving pieces at once: creating logical method groupings, documenting them with Javadoc, and writing code that stayed readable. I also learned to appreciate version control having a branch dedicated to experimentation meant I could try risky refactors without fear. Converting everything into a final PDF for submission tested my workflow discipline. Overall, the project helped me brush up on Java fundamentals, reinforce teamwork habits through Git branching, and remind myself how planning before coding saves time. These lessons will definitely carry into future weeks as I take on larger, more complex projects.