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A personal reflection on my experiences contributing to open source projects over the past three years, sharing lessons learned and advice for aspiring contributors.
Three years ago, I made my very first contribution to an open source project. I was nervous, unsure if I had anything valuable to offer. Today, I look back with pride, gratitude, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be part of the open source community.
Here’s a look at what I’ve learned, how I’ve grown, and why I keep coming back to contribute.
My journey began with a simple typo fix in a documentation file. It felt small, but it was a huge step for me. That first PR opened the door to:
Understanding the GitHub workflow
Getting comfortable with version control
Learning to read code I didn’t write
The support and kindness I received from maintainers gave me the confidence to keep going.
I started to contribute regularly to a few projects I genuinely used and believed in. This was the year I:
Fixed small bugs and opened meaningful issues
Learned how to write better commit messages
Participated in my first Hacktoberfest
More importantly, I realized that open source isn't just about code. I also helped with documentation, translation, and community support.
This year marked a turning point. I became a co-maintainer of a small utility library. My responsibilities grew:
Reviewing PRs from new contributors
Triaging issues and guiding discussions
Planning releases and managing changelogs
I also gave my first talk at a local tech meetup about contributing to open source. That experience pushed me to keep learning and sharing.
Even fixing a typo or rephrasing a sentence in the docs can make a difference.
The people behind the code matter. Collaboration, mentorship, and support define open source.
I've become a better developer through code reviews, reading others’ work, and building in public.
Three years in, open source has become more than a hobby—it's a part of who I am as a developer. It’s where I grow, connect, and make an impact.
If you’re thinking about contributing, just start. Your voice matters. Your code matters. And there's a whole community ready to welcome you.
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