The latest articles on DEV Community by 𝒮ubin (@subinshk). https://dev.to/subinshk https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F2332247%2Fb84ffcfe-d5fb-4ba5-bd65-817895f0f447.jpeg https://dev.to/subinshk en 𝒮ubin Sat, 04 Jan 2025 10:00:12 +0000 https://dev.to/subinshk/2024-through-the-eyes-of-a-student-4j1e https://dev.to/subinshk/2024-through-the-eyes-of-a-student-4j1e <p><em>This is a submission for the <a href="https://dev.to/challenges/newyear">2025 New Year Writing challenge</a>: Retro’ing and Debugging 2024.</em></p> <p>2024 went by in a blink of an eye and yet I feel stagnate and how nothing has changed from 2023. I am a student pursuing Computer Science and here's my journey of 2024.</p> <p>During the initial months of 2024 I truly did nothing. I was lazy, unmotivated and used to think "what happens so, happpens". However, during mid 2024 I found myself reflecting on self and how a change is a must. So, I tried working hard, academically and actually managed to come 2nd in my college for two consequitive semesters when I had literally failed during my 1st semester and was struggling through the others.</p> <p>From my academic success, I thrived to want more. My classmates are far more knowlegdeable than me and I feel like I'm just there pursuing the degree with no skills whatsoever. Hence, I started exploring different fields of Computer Science and finally decided to pursue Web development and later on move on to Mobile. Carrying on with what I already know, I wanted to dive deeper and study react for frontend. I did try my best to learn it from various youtube channels and free courses but I felt like I wasn't learning anything and that was when I dived my roots further down to the basics (Javascript). </p> <p>Slowly but surely, I was growing confident. Meanwhile, I was also exploring other fields including open source contributions and Hacktoberfest. During the month of October is when I felt truly progressive when I contributed to Hacktoberfest and other similar events. It was then when I earned my first swag. I also participated in Hackathons where our team won 1st runner up positon.</p> <p>Even after all these achivements which I didn't have during past years, I feel insufficient. As I mentioned before, I was trying to learn react. However, be it pressure of needing to complete academic assignments and projects or other outside things, I never learned it properly. Even now, I am struggling to do the same with little progress and hoping that my baby steps would eventually lead me to become successfull.</p> <p>That's a wrap to my journey in 2024 and hopefully 2025 would be better and by the ends of it, I wish I would be writing about my reflections and how I became successfully instead.</p> devchallenge newyearchallenge career webdev 𝒮ubin Sun, 03 Nov 2024 17:22:48 +0000 https://dev.to/subinshk/first-steps-into-open-source-hacktoberfest-2024-reflection-n8l https://dev.to/subinshk/first-steps-into-open-source-hacktoberfest-2024-reflection-n8l <p><em>This is a submission for the <a href="https://dev.to/challenges/hacktoberfest">2024 Hacktoberfest Writing challenge</a>: Contributor Experience</em></p> <p>I took part in Hacktoberfest 2024 this year with a mix of excitement and curiosity. Contributing to open-source projects has always been something I wanted to try, and Hacktoberfest seemed like the perfect opportunity to dive in, learn, and give back to the community. So, here’s the story of my first experience contributing to open source.</p> <h2> Taking the First Step </h2> <p>As a newcomer to open source contributions, I initially felt a bit lost. Around this time, I also participated in other open source events like GSSoC'24 Extd and Frogtoberfest organized by Leapfrog. Being involved in these events honestly made it easier to achieve my goal of merging four pull requests... and even surpass it. Finding projects that matched my skills and were welcoming to newcomers took some time, but eventually, I discovered a few repositories that aligned well with my abilities. And so, my journey into open source contributions truly began.</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fqsovqfr5x1cj0kmh85hg.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fqsovqfr5x1cj0kmh85hg.png" alt="Hacktoberfest Progress" width="800" height="294"></a></p> <h1> Challenges and Growth </h1> <p>Starting as a first-time contributor meant a lot of learning and a fair share of challenges, from figuring out Git commands to understanding various project structures. Moreover, I didn't even realize that only the repositories with hacktoberfest label counted until much later. But each pull request increased my confidence and taught me the ins and outs of open source. I gained practical experience in:</p> <ul> <li>Git Workflows: Learning to navigate branches, raise issues, manage commits, and handle pull requests effectively.</li> <li>Problem Solving: Discovering and tackling into different issues made me more resourceful, teaching me to search for solutions and reach out for help when needed.</li> <li>Collaboration and Communication: Working with maintainers and other contributors showed me the importance of clear communication and teamwork in open source.</li> </ul> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F6da3rcv8xd6r59h8iwh5.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F6da3rcv8xd6r59h8iwh5.png" alt="Hacktoberfest Pull Requests" width="800" height="398"></a></p> <h2> Looking Forward </h2> <p>Hacktoberfest 2024 has been a milestone for me. It opened the door to open-source contributions and gave me confidence that my skills can make a difference, no matter how small. I look forward to continuing this journey, building my skills, and contributing to projects I care about.</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fthlh4ur80rto551a7esi.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fthlh4ur80rto551a7esi.png" alt="Hacktoberfest Holopin Badges" width="800" height="245"></a></p> devchallenge hacktoberfest opensource