Whoa!
Since my mid-2023 reflection post, Iāve grown so much in my tech and open source journey. There were goals that Iāve set and managed to achieve and a few surprises that I did not anticipate. Now before I start getting tear-eyed, join me as I reminisce on my triumphs, challenges, and muse about the future.
Triumphs
There were so many wins that I experienced this year, but I had to pick a few, it would be the following:
Win #1: My First Contribution to Dev.to
Iāve always wanted to contribute to Dev.to's open source project, but never knew how to do so. Then one day while I was trying to schedule on a post for OpenSauced's blog, I told @michaeltharrington, one of the moderators of the website's Discord community, that an alert appears for these kinds of posts. He then suggested that I add this information to the Editor Guide via a Pull Request:
What type of PR is this? (check all applicable)
- [ ] Refactor
- [ ] Feature
- [ ] Bug Fix
- [ ] Optimization
- [X] Documentation Update
Description
This PR makes a couple of updates in the Editor Guide. I noticed that when scheduling a post to be published the next day, the message, "This URL is public but secret, so share at your own discretion". After raising this issue to @michael-tharrington and learning that posts will only appear in feeds and on a user's profile when they are published on the day they are scheduled. Through another conversation, Michael pointed out that the bullet point about the Markdown editor needs to be updated since Dev.to now has two editors. By making these adjustments, users would gain a better understanding of how to edit and publish their posts.
Related Tickets & Documents
Not applicable
QA Instructions, Screenshots, Recordings
UI accessibility checklist
If your PR includes UI changes, please utilize this checklist:
- [ ] Semantic HTML implemented?
- [ ] Keyboard operability supported?
- [ ] Checked with axe DevTools and addressed
Critical and Serious issues?
- [ ] Color contrast tested?
For more info, check out the
Forem Accessibility Docs.
Added/updated tests?
We encourage you to keep the code coverage percentage at 80% and above.
- [ ] Yes
- [ ] No, and this is why: please replace this line with details on why tests
have not been included
- [X] I need help with writing tests
[optional] Are there any post deployment tasks we need to perform?
[optional] What gif best describes this PR or how it makes you feel?
It was wonderful making that contribution and look forward to doing more in the future. If you want to learn more about this contribution's creation process, check out Michaelās post here:
Win #2: Becoming FreeCodeCampās Top Publication Contributor
To this day, Iām still get giddy that I am one of FreeCodeCampās Top Publication Contributor. Given that this is my first year writing for them, I did not anticipate that I would win this title, so through this experience, Iāve learned that sometimes, the wins you donāt plan are the best ones. If you want to learn more about my experience, check out this post:
Win #3: Becoming an open source maintainer
Iāve managed to be a maintainer not one but two open source projects. LinksHub and OpenSauced.
LinksHub aims to provide developers with access to a wide range of free resources and tools that they can use in their work. These resources include links to free software, libraries, frameworks, and other tools that can be used to build and deploy applications and websites.
Welcome to LinksHub š
LinksHub is a hub of links made for and by the community. Whether you're a new developer, a seasoned technical writer, or a customer service representative looking to learn how to code, we got the resources you need to aid you in your learning journey.
We recognize that there's a wealth of information available, but often, it's a matter of knowing where to find it. That's why we've made it our mission to bring the right resources to you
Outreach
We are passionate about helping people from all backgrounds start their open source journey. Here are some initiatives that we have partaken in:
Name |
Logo |
Purpose |
Product Hunt |
 |
A platform where people launch different kind of products/projects and share them with the community |
GirlScript Summer of Code 2023 |
 |
3-month summer
open source program with a mission to help students from India and beyond in developing their |
The place where future contributors are born
š Guest Book š
Welcome to OpenSauced's Guest Book Repository!
OpenSauced Guest Book
This guest book is a place for people who have taken OpenSauced's Intro to Open Source course to take their first steps into contributing to open source.
Getting Started
For complete instructions on how to add yourself to our guest book, please head to the "Let's Get Practical" section in our Intro to Open Source course.
Resolving Merge Conflicts
If you encounter merge conflicts while contributing to this repository, read our Intro to Open Source course's "Merge Conflicts in the Guest Book Repository" section.
What's Next?
You can add this contribution to your OpenSauced profile as outlined in the course.
Hungry for more contributions? Check out our pizza verse repository and join us in celebrating pizza!šš
š¤ Contributing
All contributors are required to abide by our Code of Conduct. Pleaseā¦
Reviewing Pull Requests and brainstorming ideas to enhance these projects with @rupali_codes, @bekahhw, @adiatiayu, @nickytonline, and @bdougieyo has been a wonderful experience. I look forward to doing more with them. If you want to learn more about my experience, check out one of my posts here:
With triumphs comes challenges, so bring out some more snacks and join me as I reflect (and cheer) on the challenges I have managed to overcome.
Challenges
There were a couple a challenges that I faced this year, but if I had to pick some, it would be the following:
Challenge #1: Surviving Hacktoberfest
This year, I decided to participate in Hacktoberfest as a contributor and maintainer for the first time ever. In the beginning, it was hard balancing trying to find projects and fulfill the four PR requirement and helping contributors achieve the same goal, but after a while, I slowly got used to the workflow. It was a great experience and would love to do it again. If you want to learn more about how I survived this event, check out these posts here:
Challenge #2: Find Paid Tech Writing Gigs
In mid-2023, I set out to write paid technical content, which turned out to be quite the challenge. Many publications favored web development experts or didnāt find my drafts aligned with their brand. Their rejections left me feeling a bit dejected, but just when I was about to give up, voila! Success finally smiled my way! š A non-profit organization reached out to me and mentioned that their open source projectās documentation leader has read some of my blog posts on Hashnode and asked if Iād be willing to help them improve their projectās tutorials. As someone whoās been blogging to boost my job search, this win reassures me that Iām heading in the right direction. If you want to learn more about this experience, check out my reflective post here:
Alright enough with discussing the past, come and letās look forward to the future with me! š
Looking Into The Future
For 2024, I would like to achieve the following:
- Do more paid technical writing content
- Find an online graduate program and gain a certificate in Cybersecurity
- Participate in a paid open source program.
I know thereāll be more roadblocks coming with these goals but Iām ready to face them head-on.
Shoutouts
As I always like to say, āThereās no i in Teamā. Here are some people I would like to thank for their help:
- Thank you @blackgirlbytes for being a huge inspiration in my approach to writing technical content, and giving me the courage to be reflective about my writing journey! š
- Thank you @anmolbaranwal for being receptive to my ideas for LinksHub and encouraging me to grow as a maintainer! š
- Thank you @yuridevat for your support during Hacktoberfest. Your guidance and patience in my approach to contributing to your open source projects has been immensely helpful.
Where to Go Next
I donāt know how 2024 will be, but I do know one thing. Itāll be great! š Stay updated on my journey by exploring my other tech blogs and social links on my BioDrop profile.
Christine Belzie 
