This year marked my first-ever participation in Hacktoberfest, and it turned out to be a valuable introduction to the open source world. Before joining, I had only a basic understanding of how open source contributions worked. Terms like repositories, forks, issues, and pull requests were new to me, and I wasn’t sure how much I could actually contribute. But I decided to start small and focus on learning through hands-on experience.
One of the repositories I contributed to was Eventra, a platform designed for developers to discover information about open source projects, internships, and community opportunities. My contributions mainly focused on improving the user interface and ensuring that certain elements were aligned and accessible. Working on Eventra helped me understand how even small frontend changes can improve usability and make the platform more welcoming to new users.
Another project I worked on was Itinerarly, a website centered around showcasing the cultural and tourism aspects of India. This project allowed me to explore web design more deeply, as I focused on refining the frontend layout and enhancing how travel information was displayed. Through this, I gained experience in how visual presentation can make a big difference in engaging users and communicating the purpose of a website.
Participating in Hacktoberfest gave me a clear understanding of how collaborative development works in real-world projects. I learned how to navigate repositories, follow contribution guidelines, make pull requests, and respond to feedback. It also helped me see how open source communities encourage learning and teamwork. Even though my contributions were small, the process gave me confidence and a sense of direction as I continue to grow as a developer.
As a recent graduate exploring opportunities in tech, Hacktoberfest helped me connect theory with practice. It showed me that contributing to open source is not just about writing code, but about communication, collaboration, and continuous improvement. This experience has encouraged me to keep contributing, learning, and building meaningful projects in the future.
I would love to take part in such opportunities in the future.I beleive this is the best way to learn industry practices.
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