docs: def authenticate(self, username, password):
          """
          :param username: this is the email or username to check
          """
          # If username is an email address, then try to pull it up
          user = self.get_by_username_or_email(username)
  
          if not user:
              return None
  
          if user.check_password(password):
              return user
  
          return None