diff --git a/auth/auth.go b/auth/auth.go
index a99abdb..1a6ae57 100644
--- a/auth/auth.go
+++ b/auth/auth.go
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/markbates/goth/gothic"
 	"log"
 	"net/http"
-	"sponsorahacker/config"
+	db "sponsorahacker/db"
 )
 
 func Login(c *gin.Context) {
@@ -17,11 +17,14 @@ func Login(c *gin.Context) {
 }
 
 func Callback(c *gin.Context) {
-	sessionStore, err := NewSessionManager(config.GetEnvVar("DATABASE_URL"))
+	dbclient, err := db.NewDbClient()
+
 	if err != nil {
-		panic(err)
+		log.Println(err)
+		return
 	}
 
+	sessionStore := NewSessionManager(dbclient)
 	user, err := gothic.CompleteUserAuth(c.Writer, c.Request)
 
 	if err != nil {
@@ -30,10 +33,10 @@ func Callback(c *gin.Context) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	c.SetCookie("user_id", user.UserID, 3600, "/", "localhost", false, true)
-	err = sessionStore.SetSession(user.Name, c)
+	err = sessionStore.CreateSession(user, c)
+
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Println("failed to set session:", err)
+		log.Println("failed to create session in db:", err)
 	}
 
 	// For now, redirect to profile page after successful login
@@ -41,14 +44,24 @@ func Callback(c *gin.Context) {
 }
 
 func Logout(c *gin.Context) {
-	sessionStore, err := NewSessionManager(config.GetEnvVar("DATABASE_URL"))
+	dbClient, err := db.NewDbClient()
+
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatal(err)
+		return
+	}
+
+	sessionStore := NewSessionManager(dbClient)
 	if err != nil {
-		panic(err)
+		log.Fatal(err)
+		return
 	}
-	c.SetCookie("user_id", "", -1, "/", "localhost", false, true)
+
 	err = sessionStore.DeleteSession(c)
+
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Println("failed to delete session:", err)
+		log.Fatal("failed to delete session:", err)
 	}
+
 	c.Redirect(http.StatusTemporaryRedirect, "/")
 }
diff --git a/auth/sessions.go b/auth/sessions.go
index 9469ab3..1bf3c6e 100644
--- a/auth/sessions.go
+++ b/auth/sessions.go
@@ -3,105 +3,153 @@ package auth
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"github.com/gin-contrib/sessions"
 	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
-	"github.com/gorilla/sessions"
+	"github.com/gorilla/securecookie"
+	"github.com/markbates/goth"
+	"net/url"
 	"sponsorahacker/config"
 	"sponsorahacker/db"
+	"strconv"
+	"time"
 )
 
-type SessionManager interface {
-	SetSession(username string, c *gin.Context) error
-	GetSession(c *gin.Context) (string, error)
+type SessionStore interface {
+	CreateSession(*gin.Context) error
+	GetSession(string) (Session, error)
+	DeleteSession(string) error
 }
 
-type SessionStore struct {
-	SessionDB db.Database
-	Store     *sessions.CookieStore
+type SessionManager struct {
+	DB *db.DBClient
 }
 
-func NewSessionManager(dbUrl string) (*SessionStore, error) {
-	db, err := db.NewDbClient(dbUrl)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	// Create sessions table if not exist
-	_, err = db.Exec(`
-	CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS sessions (
-		id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
-		session_id TEXT NOT NULL UNIQUE,
-		data BLOB NOT NULL,
-		created_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
-		updated_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
-	);
-	`)
+type Session struct {
+	sessionId   string
+	sessionData string
+	createdOn   string
+	modifiedOn  string
+	expiresOn   string
+}
 
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
+var secureCookie *securecookie.SecureCookie
 
-	sessionSecret := config.GetEnvVar("SESSION_SECRET")
+func NewSessionManager(db *db.DBClient) SessionManager {
 
-	store := sessions.NewCookieStore([]byte(sessionSecret))
-	return &SessionStore{db, store}, nil
+	return SessionManager{DB: db}
 }
 
-func (s *SessionStore) SetSession(username string, c *gin.Context) error {
-	session, err := s.Store.Get(c.Request, "session")
+func (s *SessionManager) CreateSession(user goth.User, c *gin.Context) error {
+	// create a new row that will store the user data
+	sessionData, err := json.Marshal(user)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		fmt.Printf("error marshalling user: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	auth := Session{
+		sessionData: string(sessionData),
+		createdOn:   time.Now().Format("20060102150405"),
+		modifiedOn:  time.Now().Format("20060102150405"),
+		expiresOn:   user.ExpiresAt.Format("20060102150405"),
 	}
 
-	session.Values["username"] = username
-	if err := session.Save(c.Request, c.Writer); err != nil {
+	// todo: insert the query once you figure the rest out
+	result, err := s.DB.Exec(`
+    INSERT INTO sessions (sessionData, createdOn, modifiedOn, expiresOn)
+    VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?);`, auth.sessionData, auth.createdOn, auth.modifiedOn, auth.expiresOn)
+
+	if result == nil {
+		fmt.Printf("error getting result from database while creating the session: %v", err)
 		return err
 	}
 
-	return s.saveSessionToDB(session)
-}
+	sessionId, err := result.LastInsertId()
 
-func (s *SessionStore) GetSession(c *gin.Context) (string, error) {
-	session, err := s.Store.Get(c.Request, "session")
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
+		fmt.Printf("error getting session id from database while creating the session: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	username, ok := session.Values["username"].(string)
-	if !ok {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("username not found in session")
+	hash := []byte(config.GetEnvVar("COOKIE_HASH"))
+	block := []byte(config.GetEnvVar("COOKIE_BLOCK"))
+	secureCookie = securecookie.New(hash, block)
+	cookieValue := map[string]string{
+		"sessionId": strconv.Itoa(int(sessionId)),
 	}
 
-	return username, nil
-}
+	encoded, err := secureCookie.Encode("_session", cookieValue)
 
-func (s *SessionStore) DeleteSession(c *gin.Context) error {
-	session, err := s.Store.Get(c.Request, "session")
 	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("error encoding cookie value: %v", err)
 		return err
 	}
 
-	session.Values["username"] = make(map[interface{}]interface{})
+	c.SetCookie("_session", encoded, 3600, "/", "localhost", false, true)
 
-	if err := session.Save(c.Request, c.Writer); err != nil {
-		return err
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (s *SessionManager) GetSession(session sessions.Session) (Session, error) {
+	// query for one row
+	result, err := s.DB.Query(`SELECT sessionData FROM sessions WHERE sessionId=$1 LIMIT 1`, session.ID())
+
+	// if err, then return an empty struct
+	if err != nil {
+		return Session{}, err
 	}
 
-	_, err = s.SessionDB.Exec("DELETE FROM sessions WHERE session_id = ?", session.ID)
+	// else go through the results and create a Session
+	for result.Next() {
+		var s Session
+
+		// unless there is an error, of course, then return an empty struct
+		if err := result.StructScan(&s); err != nil {
+			return Session{}, err
+		}
+
+		return s, nil
+	}
 
-	return err
+	// if we get nothing, well, we go nothing
+	return Session{}, nil
 }
 
-func (s *SessionStore) saveSessionToDB(session *sessions.Session) error {
-	data, err := json.Marshal(session.Values)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
+func (s *SessionManager) DeleteSession(c *gin.Context) error {
+	if cookie, err := c.Request.Cookie("_session"); err == nil {
+		value := make(map[string]string)
+
+		cookieValue, _ := url.QueryUnescape(cookie.Value)
+
+		hash := []byte(config.GetEnvVar("COOKIE_HASH"))
+		block := []byte(config.GetEnvVar("COOKIE_BLOCK"))
+		secureCookie := securecookie.New(hash, block)
+
+		err = secureCookie.Decode("_session", cookieValue, &value)
+
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("error decoding cookie value: %v", err)
+			return err
+		}
+
+		sessionId := value["sessionId"]
+		sessionIdInt, err := strconv.Atoi(sessionId)
+
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("error converting sessionId to int: %v", err)
+			return err
+		}
+
+		_, err = s.DB.Exec(`DELETE FROM sessions WHERE ID = ?`, sessionIdInt)
+
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
 	}
 
-	_, err = s.SessionDB.Exec(`
-	INSERT INTO sessions (session_id, data, updated_at)
-	VALUES (?, ?, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP)
-	ON CONFLICT(session_id) DO UPDATE SET data = ?, updated_at = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
-	`, session.ID, data, data)
+	c.SetCookie("_session", "", -1, "/", "localhost", false, true)
 
-	return err
+	return nil
 }
diff --git a/db/db.go b/db/db.go
index 4a41527..25acaec 100644
--- a/db/db.go
+++ b/db/db.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/jmoiron/sqlx"
 	_ "github.com/tursodatabase/go-libsql"
+	"os"
 )
 
 type Database interface {
@@ -17,7 +18,8 @@ type DBClient struct {
 	db *sqlx.DB
 }
 
-func NewDbClient(dsn string) (Database, error) {
+func NewDbClient() (*DBClient, error) {
+	dsn := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL")
 	db, err := sqlx.Open("libsql", dsn)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to open db: %w", err)
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index c3427ea..aae2ea4 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@ module sponsorahacker
 go 1.22
 
 require (
+	github.com/gin-contrib/sessions v1.0.1
 	github.com/gin-gonic/gin v1.10.0
-	github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0
+	github.com/gorilla/securecookie v1.1.2
 	github.com/jmoiron/sqlx v1.4.0
 	github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1
 	github.com/markbates/goth v1.80.0
@@ -13,8 +14,6 @@ require (
 )
 
 require (
-	cloud.google.com/go/compute v1.20.1 // indirect
-	cloud.google.com/go/compute/metadata v0.2.3 // indirect
 	github.com/antlr4-go/antlr/v4 v4.13.0 // indirect
 	github.com/bytedance/sonic v1.11.6 // indirect
 	github.com/bytedance/sonic/loader v0.1.1 // indirect
@@ -28,10 +27,9 @@ require (
 	github.com/goccy/go-json v0.10.2 // indirect
 	github.com/golang-jwt/jwt v3.2.1+incompatible // indirect
 	github.com/golang/protobuf v1.5.3 // indirect
-	github.com/gorilla/context v1.1.1 // indirect
+	github.com/gorilla/context v1.1.2 // indirect
 	github.com/gorilla/mux v1.6.2 // indirect
-	github.com/gorilla/securecookie v1.1.1 // indirect
-	github.com/gorilla/sessions v1.1.1 // indirect
+	github.com/gorilla/sessions v1.2.2 // indirect
 	github.com/json-iterator/go v1.1.12 // indirect
 	github.com/klauspost/cpuid/v2 v2.2.7 // indirect
 	github.com/kr/text v0.2.0 // indirect
@@ -40,7 +38,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20 // indirect
 	github.com/modern-go/concurrent v0.0.0-20180306012644-bacd9c7ef1dd // indirect
 	github.com/modern-go/reflect2 v1.0.2 // indirect
-	github.com/mrjones/oauth v0.0.0-20180629183705-f4e24b6d100c // indirect
 	github.com/pelletier/go-toml/v2 v2.2.2 // indirect
 	github.com/twitchyliquid64/golang-asm v0.15.1 // indirect
 	github.com/ugorji/go/codec v1.2.12 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index a831a68..e057be8 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -1,7 +1,3 @@
-cloud.google.com/go/compute v1.20.1 h1:6aKEtlUiwEpJzM001l0yFkpXmUVXaN8W+fbkb2AZNbg=
-cloud.google.com/go/compute v1.20.1/go.mod h1:4tCnrn48xsqlwSAiLf1HXMQk8CONslYbdiEZc9FEIbM=
-cloud.google.com/go/compute/metadata v0.2.3 h1:mg4jlk7mCAj6xXp9UJ4fjI9VUI5rubuGBW5aJ7UnBMY=
-cloud.google.com/go/compute/metadata v0.2.3/go.mod h1:VAV5nSsACxMJvgaAuX6Pk2AawlZn8kiOGuCv6gTkwuA=
 filippo.io/edwards25519 v1.1.0 h1:FNf4tywRC1HmFuKW5xopWpigGjJKiJSV0Cqo0cJWDaA=
 filippo.io/edwards25519 v1.1.0/go.mod h1:BxyFTGdWcka3PhytdK4V28tE5sGfRvvvRV7EaN4VDT4=
 github.com/antlr4-go/antlr/v4 v4.13.0 h1:lxCg3LAv+EUK6t1i0y1V6/SLeUi0eKEKdhQAlS8TVTI=
@@ -20,6 +16,8 @@ github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype v1.4.3 h1:in2uUcidCuFcDKtdcBxlR0rJ1+fsokWf+uqxgUFjbI0=
 github.com/gabriel-vasile/mimetype v1.4.3/go.mod h1:d8uq/6HKRL6CGdk+aubisF/M5GcPfT7nKyLpA0lbSSk=
+github.com/gin-contrib/sessions v1.0.1 h1:3hsJyNs7v7N8OtelFmYXFrulAf6zSR7nW/putcPEHxI=
+github.com/gin-contrib/sessions v1.0.1/go.mod h1:ouxSFM24/OgIud5MJYQJLpy6AwxQ5EYO9yLhbtObGkM=
 github.com/gin-contrib/sse v0.1.0 h1:Y/yl/+YNO8GZSjAhjMsSuLt29uWRFHdHYUb5lYOV9qE=
 github.com/gin-contrib/sse v0.1.0/go.mod h1:RHrZQHXnP2xjPF+u1gW/2HnVO7nvIa9PG3Gm+fLHvGI=
 github.com/gin-gonic/gin v1.10.0 h1:nTuyha1TYqgedzytsKYqna+DfLos46nTv2ygFy86HFU=
@@ -46,18 +44,16 @@ github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.5/go.mod h1:v8dTdLbMG2kIc/vJvl+f65V22dbkXbowE6jgT/
 github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.9 h1:O2Tfq5qg4qc4AmwVlvv0oLiVAGB7enBSJ2x2DqQFi38=
 github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.9/go.mod h1:17dUlkBOakJ0+DkrSSNjCkIjxS6bF9zb3elmeNGIjoY=
 github.com/google/gofuzz v1.0.0/go.mod h1:dBl0BpW6vV/+mYPU4Po3pmUjxk6FQPldtuIdl/M65Eg=
-github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0 h1:NIvaJDMOsjHA8n1jAhLSgzrAzy1Hgr+hNrb57e+94F0=
-github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0/go.mod h1:TIyPZe4MgqvfeYDBFedMoGGpEw/LqOeaOT+nhxU+yHo=
-github.com/gorilla/context v1.1.1 h1:AWwleXJkX/nhcU9bZSnZoi3h/qGYqQAGhq6zZe/aQW8=
-github.com/gorilla/context v1.1.1/go.mod h1:kBGZzfjB9CEq2AlWe17Uuf7NDRt0dE0s8S51q0aT7Yg=
+github.com/google/gofuzz v1.2.0 h1:xRy4A+RhZaiKjJ1bPfwQ8sedCA+YS2YcCHW6ec7JMi0=
+github.com/google/gofuzz v1.2.0/go.mod h1:dBl0BpW6vV/+mYPU4Po3pmUjxk6FQPldtuIdl/M65Eg=
+github.com/gorilla/context v1.1.2 h1:WRkNAv2uoa03QNIc1A6u4O7DAGMUVoopZhkiXWA2V1o=
+github.com/gorilla/context v1.1.2/go.mod h1:KDPwT9i/MeWHiLl90fuTgrt4/wPcv75vFAZLaOOcbxM=
 github.com/gorilla/mux v1.6.2 h1:Pgr17XVTNXAk3q/r4CpKzC5xBM/qW1uVLV+IhRZpIIk=
 github.com/gorilla/mux v1.6.2/go.mod h1:1lud6UwP+6orDFRuTfBEV8e9/aOM/c4fVVCaMa2zaAs=
-github.com/gorilla/pat v0.0.0-20180118222023-199c85a7f6d1 h1:LqbZZ9sNMWVjeXS4NN5oVvhMjDyLhmA1LG86oSo+IqY=
-github.com/gorilla/pat v0.0.0-20180118222023-199c85a7f6d1/go.mod h1:YeAe0gNeiNT5hoiZRI4yiOky6jVdNvfO2N6Kav/HmxY=
-github.com/gorilla/securecookie v1.1.1 h1:miw7JPhV+b/lAHSXz4qd/nN9jRiAFV5FwjeKyCS8BvQ=
-github.com/gorilla/securecookie v1.1.1/go.mod h1:ra0sb63/xPlUeL+yeDciTfxMRAA+MP+HVt/4epWDjd4=
-github.com/gorilla/sessions v1.1.1 h1:YMDmfaK68mUixINzY/XjscuJ47uXFWSSHzFbBQM0PrE=
-github.com/gorilla/sessions v1.1.1/go.mod h1:8KCfur6+4Mqcc6S0FEfKuN15Vl5MgXW92AE8ovaJD0w=
+github.com/gorilla/securecookie v1.1.2 h1:YCIWL56dvtr73r6715mJs5ZvhtnY73hBvEF8kXD8ePA=
+github.com/gorilla/securecookie v1.1.2/go.mod h1:NfCASbcHqRSY+3a8tlWJwsQap2VX5pwzwo4h3eOamfo=
+github.com/gorilla/sessions v1.2.2 h1:lqzMYz6bOfvn2WriPUjNByzeXIlVzURcPmgMczkmTjY=
+github.com/gorilla/sessions v1.2.2/go.mod h1:ePLdVu+jbEgHH+KWw8I1z2wqd0BAdAQh/8LRvBeoNcQ=
 github.com/jmoiron/sqlx v1.4.0 h1:1PLqN7S1UYp5t4SrVVnt4nUVNemrDAtxlulVe+Qgm3o=
 github.com/jmoiron/sqlx v1.4.0/go.mod h1:ZrZ7UsYB/weZdl2Bxg6jCRO9c3YHl8r3ahlKmRT4JLY=
 github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1 h1:7eLL/+HRGLY0ldzfGMeQkb7vMd0as4CfYvUVzLqw0N0=
@@ -89,8 +85,6 @@ github.com/modern-go/concurrent v0.0.0-20180306012644-bacd9c7ef1dd h1:TRLaZ9cD/w
 github.com/modern-go/concurrent v0.0.0-20180306012644-bacd9c7ef1dd/go.mod h1:6dJC0mAP4ikYIbvyc7fijjWJddQyLn8Ig3JB5CqoB9Q=
 github.com/modern-go/reflect2 v1.0.2 h1:xBagoLtFs94CBntxluKeaWgTMpvLxC4ur3nMaC9Gz0M=
 github.com/modern-go/reflect2 v1.0.2/go.mod h1:yWuevngMOJpCy52FWWMvUC8ws7m/LJsjYzDa0/r8luk=
-github.com/mrjones/oauth v0.0.0-20180629183705-f4e24b6d100c h1:3wkDRdxK92dF+c1ke2dtj7ZzemFWBHB9plnJOtlwdFA=
-github.com/mrjones/oauth v0.0.0-20180629183705-f4e24b6d100c/go.mod h1:skjdDftzkFALcuGzYSklqYd8gvat6F1gZJ4YPVbkZpM=
 github.com/nicklaw5/helix v1.25.0 h1:Mrz537izZVsGdM3I46uGAAlslj61frgkhS/9xQqyT/M=
 github.com/nicklaw5/helix v1.25.0/go.mod h1:yvXZFapT6afIoxnAvlWiJiUMsYnoHl7tNs+t0bloAMw=
 github.com/pelletier/go-toml/v2 v2.2.2 h1:aYUidT7k73Pcl9nb2gScu7NSrKCSHIDE89b3+6Wq+LM=
diff --git a/utils/util.go b/utils/util.go
index c61c22b..bfc1195 100644
--- a/utils/util.go
+++ b/utils/util.go
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ package utils
 import "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
 
 func CheckIfLoggedIn(c *gin.Context) bool {
-	userID, err := c.Cookie("user_id")
-	if err != nil || userID == "" {
+	cookie, err := c.Cookie("_session")
+	if err != nil || cookie == "" {
 		return false
 	}