My Learning Journey and Using Obsidan.md in 2025

Where I started

I started my post-high school education thinking I wanted to be a doctor. Then I wanted to be an anthropologist. Then a science teacher. I drifted from school to school, starting at the University of California, Riverside, before bouncing between various community colleges. Eventually—more than ten years after graduating high school—I finally earned my degree.

I now hold an Associate of Science in Computer Networking Administration and Security Management. It was a solid program, but it didn’t provide a strong foundation for certification exams or real-world job applications—something I see as a broader issue with our education system. One of my classes was literally just watching online videos from another instructor. But hey, not bitter.

So, what did I do after graduating? I threw myself into certifications, hoping they’d open doors for potential careers. With no clear goal, I picked up:

• Google IT Professional Certificate (Coursera)
• Google Project Management Certificate (Coursera)
• ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity

At some point, I realized I needed a more focused direction, well direction in general and a way to apply what I was learning. That’s where this blog comes in. I decided to pursue a career in network engineering with an eventual goal of site reliability engineering and in the future teaching a CTE course in Networking. Currently, I’m working toward my CCNA—I just picked up the cert guide and finished the first three chapters. If you’re studying the same material and want another perspective, you can follow my notes here.

Why Obsidian.md?

I use Obsidian not just for my CCNA notes, but for this blog as well. I originally started with Notion, which was great for organizing life goals and ideas, but it never felt quite right for serious note-taking—at least for me. That said, Notion is an excellent tool, and plenty of students have created amazing templates for it. Shoutout to Janice Studies for introducing me to Notion and getting me hooked on digital note-taking.

But back to Obsidian. The main reasons I prefer it:

• Markdown-based writing – I like the simplicity and portability of Markdown, a habit I picked up while using Notion.
• Local-first storage – Unlike Notion, which stores everything in the cloud, Obsidian keeps your files on your device.
• Future Proof – Since the files are simply stored as Markdown files, you can easily take them to a new App or Editor. With out the need to export them or use a tool to migrate.
• Customizability – Between built-in options, community plugins, and themes, I can tailor Obsidian exactly how I want.
• GitHub Sync – My biggest hesitation in switching was the lack of a cloud sync that was not behind a paywall. I solved this by using GitHub this lets me sync my notes across devices—including my iPad—thanks to this tutorial. This also helps at work, where local app installations are blocked, but I can still access my notes online via the GitHub website.

Notion is undoubtedly easier to pick up. It has an intuitive UI, making it simple to import content, embed media, and format everything beautifully in a browser. However, Obsidian offers a more powerful experience for knowledge management—if you’re willing to invest time in customization. While Notion shines in its simplicity, once you start exploring its databases and formulas, you can quickly find yourself in a deep rabbit hole.

How do you know if Obsidian.md is for you, ask yourself:

• Are you concerned about privacy and want your data store locally vs on some companies server?
• Do you want to customize just about everything?
• Do you like to tinker?
• Don’t mind looking up tutorials?
• You want something that is futureproof?

Then Obsidian.md is for you.

As always Stay Safe and Stay Curious.