Travel through Open Source

A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

My travel started with the Djangonaut Space program. For those who don't know what I'm talking about check this out: https://djangonaut.space/

How Does the Program Work?

The focus of the program is on collaborative learning and longevity. Teams are formed to achieve common goals. Every week, there’s a call with your team where you discuss your plan for the week, what you’ve accomplished, and any questions you have.

The important thing is to ask as much as you can. I found this challenging at first because I worried my questions might seem naive.

My Favorite Part?

During the program, you’ll be invited to the Djangonaut Space Discord server, where you can connect with other Djangonauts, your team, past participants (like myself 🌟 as a graduate of the program, I’m now called a Star), and experienced community members (Astronomers).

My favorite channel is #wins where you or your team can post your victories. Whether it’s a merged PR, an article, acceptance into Google Summer of Code, or an approved talk proposal, it’s a place for celebration 🎉.

Being Involved in the Community

An important aspect of open source is the community, which I see as its backbone.

Open source relies on the contributions of many people, and connecting with others is vital. Searching for help and giving help is important. During Djangonaut I received mentoring from incredible people at the end of the program my goal is to give something back.

Django Girls+

During PyCon Italy 2024, there was a workshop where women could explore programming for the first time. The tutorial introduces programming in Python with Django to create a simple blog.

I volunteered to support my team, helping them with any questions they had. The atmosphere was so enthusiastic. Working together towards a common goal is something special.

I would love to say that I programmed since I was a kid. I heard this story lots of times, but when I was a young girl I thought I wasn’t smart enough to program. That's why I think this tutorial is so important, because everyone starts somewhere and nobody is excluded.

Django Newsletter

In the Djangonaut Space program, we had insightful talks on various topics, like How to become confident with documentation, or Surviving through open source and accessibility in Django.

We also had the opportunity to write “Updates to Django” a small article in Django News presenting the latest updates from Discord discussions, the Django Forum, and interesting PRs introducing new features or deprecations, highlighting contributions from new contributors.

I took this opportunity, and now a group of us in Djangonaut Space are responsible for this section of the newsletter.

Conference

Last June, I attended DjangoCon Europe in Vigo for the first time.

It was an incredible experience that gave me a true sense of what “community” means. There were many wonderful speakers, but my favorite part was how easy it was to connect with people.

One of my little victories was delivering my first-ever lightning talk. These talks are a perfect opportunity to practice public speaking with a 5-minute max presentation. I promoted the Djangonaut Space program, where my incredible open source journey began.

As a non-native English speaker, speaking in English is always more challenging than I expect. It was amusing to see the puzzled looks on everyone’s faces when I tried to explain something.

At the end of the conference, we had the chance to work together and make some PRs during the Sprints. Impostor syndrome, here I come. Many PRs were raised over two days (17 in total), guided by maintainers or important figures like the Accessibility team. Like I said, impostor syndrome, here I come.

Conclusion

My journey has just begun, and I have a long way to go. Along the way, I’ve connected with wonderful people. If someone had told me about the beautiful connections I would make, I wouldn’t have believed it. Sharpening your skills is important, but the most crucial aspect and the backbone of open source is the people.

I have much to be grateful for and many people to thank. My hope for the future is to continue this path together. During the program, I heard something unforgettable:

Open Source is a marathon, not a sprint.