diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index aee1d95..b4a18f8 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -31,3 +31,4 @@
 *.out
 *.app
 .vscode/tasks.json
+src/.vscode/settings.json
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 336e242..f97ef98 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ int main() {
     std::vector<Subject> subjects; //make a dynamic array to hold subjects using a container
 
     loadSubjects(subjects); //this will load the subjects from the file, using the function from tracker.cpp
+    //idea: ask user for name, store subjects file under name to check if it exists
 
     addSubject(subjects);
     addSubject(subjects);
diff --git a/src/tracker.cpp b/src/tracker.cpp
index b2139da..ac68e89 100644
--- a/src/tracker.cpp
+++ b/src/tracker.cpp
@@ -3,16 +3,17 @@
 #include <fstream>
 #include <algorithm>
 
-//here we will put the actual function definitions for main.cpp to use (protypes in tracker.h)
+//here we will put the actual function definitions for main.cpp to use (prototypes in tracker.h)
 
-/*this will load the array of subjects from our subjects.txt file*/
+/*this will load the array of subjects from our subjects.txt file*/ 
+/* NEED TO SWITCH TO A CSV FILE */
 void loadSubjects(std::vector<Subject> &subjects) { //make a dynamic array to hold subjects using a container
     std::cout << "Loading subjects..." << std::endl; //loading message to show that the program is working
-    std::ifstream inFile("subjects.txt");  // open file for reading
+    std::ifstream inFile("subjects.csv");  // open file for reading
     //check if the file exists
     if (!inFile) { //if the file does not exist
         std::cout << "Error: No Such File Exists. Creating New File" << std::endl; //print the error message
-        std::ofstream outFile("subjects.txt"); //use ofstream to make a new blank text file
+        std::ofstream outFile("subjects.csv"); //use ofstream to make a new blank text file
         return; //return nothing if the file does not exist
     }
     //read the file if it exists
diff --git a/src/tracker.h b/src/tracker.h
index 8834ae6..42da679 100644
--- a/src/tracker.h
+++ b/src/tracker.h
@@ -1,22 +1,36 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
 
+using namespace std; //decided this would be easier than typing std:: before everything, and we aren't using any other namespaces
 // Example struct for a Subject object just to get us started
 struct Subject {
-    std::string name;
-    std::vector<std::string> tasks;
-    int hoursStudied;
-    // int grade; // Uncomment if needed later
+    string name;
+    int64_t timeInSeconds; //storing time as seconds, will convert to minutes for display. Using int64_t to avoid issues with larger numbers.
+    vector<string> tasks; //we will use a vector to hold the tasks
+    //int grade; //i don't know if we are going to use this yet, but i'm putting it here just in case
 
-    // Constructor to initialize name and hoursStudied
-    Subject(const std::string& name = "", int hoursStudied = 0)
-        : name(name), hoursStudied(hoursStudied) {}
 };
 
-//function prototypes
-void loadSubjects(std::vector<Subject>& subjects); //this will load the array of subjects from our subjects.txt file
+/*Function Prototypes*/
+void loadSubjects(vector<Subject>& subjects); //this will load the array of subjects from our subjects.txt file
 void saveSubjects(/*filler declaration*/); //this will save the array of subjects to our subjects.txt file
-void addSubject(std::vector<Subject>& subjects); //this will add a subject to the array of subjects
-void addTask(std::vector<Subject>& subjects); //this will add a task to a single subject
-void welcomeMessage(std::string name); //this will print the welcome message
-bool inputCheck(std::string& str); //this will check to see that there are no special characters in an input
+void addSubject(vector<Subject>& subjects); //this will add a subject to the array of subjects
+void addTask(Subject& name); //take the subject, add the task to it and return 
+void welcomeMessage(string name); //this will print the welcome message
+void displayView(string name); //print name (string), tasks (vector), time (int), call convertTime()
+void convertTime(); //turn seconds to minutes for the display view 
+
+/*CSV Parsing Prototypes*/
+vector<string> parseTaskArray(const string& taskString); //parse the string of tasks into a vector of strings
+string formatTaskArray(const vector<string>& tasks); //format the vector of tasks into a string so it can be written to the csv
+Subject parseRow(const string& csvLine); //parse a row of the csv into a Subject object using the struct
+string formatRow(const Subject& subject); //formats a Subject object into a string
+void readCSV(vector<Subject>& subjects); //reads the csv file and fills the vector of subjects
+void writeCSV(const vector<Subject>& subjects); //writes to the csv file with the vector of subjects
+
+/*
+Example CSV file (putting this here so we can finish the actual functions to use this format)
+subject_name,time_in_seconds,[task1,task2,task3]
+Math,3600,[Review calculus,Practice integrals]
+Physics,7200,[Read chapter 1,Lab prep]
+*/