My First Hacktoberfest as a Contributor: A Journey of Learning and Growth
Vignesh J
This is a submission for the 2024 Hacktoberfest Writing challenge: Contributor Experience
This year, I participated in Hacktoberfest for the first time, and I can’t describe how excited I was. After already contributing as a maintainer for my project, CampX, I wanted to dive into the other side of open source: being a contributor. The enthusiasm I had was sky-high! I was constantly looking forward to discovering new projects, contributing to them, and immersing myself in the vibrant world of open-source development.
The Highs 🌟 Hacktoberfest turned out to be an incredible way to learn about various open-source communities.I encountered numerous projects that used different technologies, many of which I hadn’t even heard of before. I took the time to thoroughly read about each project, and even when I didn’t have the specific knowledge to contribute, I still learned a lot. It was eye-opening to realize how many technologies, tools, and ideas are out there in the open-source world.
I also managed to complete my four PR merges successfully, which felt like a real accomplishment. Claiming all my Holopin badges was a proud moment, and I made sure to embed my Holopin dashboard on my GitHub profile to show off what I had achieved.
The Lows 💡
However, it wasn’t without its challenges. One of the biggest frustrations I encountered was when I created issues in a project, but before they were even assigned to me, someone else would mention the same issue and submit a PR. It was a bit disheartening at times, but I realized that this is just part of the open-source experience, and I learned to be quicker and more proactive in claiming issues.
Balancing the Highs and Lows ⚖️
As I’ve said before, everything has its highs and lows. If there were no ups and downs in your ECG, it would mean you're not alive. Open source is a living, breathing world, and these experiences only helped me grow as a developer and contributor.
Conclusion I am genuinely happy with my first Hacktoberfest experience as a contributor. I learned a lot, connected with amazing projects, and even though there were a few bumps along the way, the overall experience was incredibly rewarding. I can't wait until next October for the next edition of Hacktoberfest!
Let’s keep going, Open Source!
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LinkedIn: Vignesh J
GitHub (Personal): Vignesh025
GitHub Organization (VigneshDevHub): VigneshDevHub
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Written by
Vignesh J
Vignesh J
I am Vignesh. I build full-stack web applications using the MERN stack and Java full-stack. I am a technical writer who writes technical content on dev.to and Medium. I have around 5k followers on dev.to. I contribute to open-source projects and have also maintained an open-source project of my own. I have participated in a few open-source programs, both as a contributor and a maintainer: -> Secured 3rd place as a contributor among 100+ participants in Code Sapiens 2024. -> Secured 7th place as a Contributor team among 1650+ teams in DevFest AI 2024. -> Secured 14th place as a project admin among 415+ projects in GirlScript Summer of Code 2024 - Extd. -> Completed the 4 PR mark as a contributor in Hacktoberfest 2024. -> Participated as a maintainer in Hacktoberfest 2024. I am passionate about building impactful software solutions and fostering collaboration in the open-source community. I enjoy working in collaborative environments and mentoring contributors in open-source communities. Feel free to connect with me to discuss web development, open-source contributions, or technical writing. I'm always happy to collaborate and share ideas!