Two weeks ago, I joined Raffaella and Sage for Space Reviewers Episode 6, where we reviewed a Django PR during a live stream. This was a fun event. I won’t get into the technical aspects of the review, and I won’t point out the many mistakes I made. Instead, I want to revisit several “getting started with open source” community events and reflect on my personal growth since I first got involved with open source.

My first open source contribution happened accidentally during DjangoCon US 2023. I volunteered to host office hours to help tutorial attendees set up their development environments. I went through the tutorial projects, found a missing dependency in one of them, and reported it on the Slack channel. The conference organizer, Tim Schilling, responded and suggested that I open a PR to the project. I remember thinking to myself, “Really? I can do that?”

During the Sprint Days of the conference, I participated and opened two PRs to address accessibility issues. I didn’t know much about accessibility at that point, and I would not have known how to navigate the contribution process and pick out issues on my own. Thankfully, the project leaders were there to guide new contributors, and I was able to gain hands-on experience with these first few PRs.

There was another event that took place during the Sprint Days called Testathon. I had heard of hackathons before, but I had not heard of testathons. I attended and found out they were like live stream coding or group pair programming. One person shared their screen and the group chimed in on strategies. The purpose of the testathon was to show people how to test open source projects against Django’s beta release. The code driver (or anyone else in the group) would point out what files to look for, how to run tests, and how to open PRs. Every project is slightly different, from project setup to contributing etiquette, and I learned several different things from attending 2 testathons. I loved the interactive and intimate nature of the event. It exposed me to another aspect of open source projects and contributions. I also thought it was very brave of people to share their screens and work through code together in a group. My brain would have short circuited if I were put on the spot like that!

From DjangoCon US 2023, I participated in 3 different types of events where I got hands-on experience with open source contributions, and I wanted more! I was curious about the live stream coding and group pair programming opportunities, too. This was definitely outside of my comfort zone, and I wanted to know how I could overcome my own inhibitions and participate more actively. I wanted to be able to jump into events so nonchalantly as everyone else seemed to do. (Of course, that’s the perception. Now, I know that most people feel some level of nervousness or anxiety when they are hosting or attending such events, and that’s absolutely normal.)

In March 2024, when the first Djangonaut Space session came to a close, Tim, a program organizer, asked if anyone was interested in hosting a “Getting Started With Contributing” event. I expressed my interest, and Tim suggested a ticket to work on. Unfortunately, I didn’t follow through. How could I host a “Getting Started With Contributing” event? First, I wasn’t sure if I even knew how to get started. Second, I wasn’t ready to lead an event and the discussions while simultaneously sharing my screen and thinking out loud. Finally, I wasn’t ready to be on camera in the public eye. Even though I had just finished the Djangonaut Space program, I hadn’t overcome my own inhibitions. I didn’t ask for guidance, and the event never materialized.

About 8 months later in November 2024, Space Reviewers launches its very first episode. I thought it was such a creative format. I wanted to be a part of it. By this time, I was getting a lot of training with event organizing through my role as the Session Organizer for Djangonaut Space, but I wasn’t sure how to ask about joining the Space Reviewers crew, and maybe it was too early in the formation of the group to bring on another member.

It wasn’t until June 2025 that I finally asked if I could help out with Space Reviewers. The crew welcomed me as a new member. I started out by making a pre-recorded video, a PR Review Deep Dive, that was uploaded to the Djangonaut Space YouTube channel. I had a lot of fun recording and editing the video.

A month later in July 2025 (that is, two weeks ago), the crew members planned for the next episode. Raffaella scheduled time for the event and created the show notes, and I was taking on Tim’s role as a co-organizer. Because I would be managing the video stream and sharing my screen, I realized that I could be the single point of failure during the event. There was no safety element that a pre-recorded video offers. If my internet went down, or if my computer crashed, or if I stupidly clicked the wrong button, the live stream could come to a halt. It was a terrifying thought, but I took on the risks and pushed forward.

On the day of the event, there was a delay to the start time and some fumbles on my end, but overall, it was very fun and productive. People joined and shared their tips and tricks in the live chat. By the end, we were able to walk through the review process and post our comments on the PR. Looking back, I think making the pre-recorded video was a great stepping stone towards hosting the live stream.

I’m so glad I had the opportunity to work with Raffaella and Sage as part of Space Reviewers. They have a lot of insights and perspectives that I didn’t have. I had a lot of fun taking on the new challenges that came with organizing this event. Initially, I struggled internally as I tried to face some of my fears. There were moments leading up to the event where I thought to myself, “Why did I volunteer to do this???” In the end, I’m glad I did.

Some of the challenges I overcame might not seem like a big deal, but when I compare myself to where I was at the beginning of DjangoCon US 2023, I can see my personal growth quite prominently. Now, I know how to get started with contributing, and I am able to walk people through the process. I am also a lot more comfortable taking ownership of organizing and leading events. (I remember a time when I constantly needed to ask for permission or confirmation before executing an action.) I can brush off the fumbles I make as the camera is rolling, and I can continue on with the discussion.

When I revisit the community events that I have participated in over the past 2 years, from Space Reviewers, to Sprints, to Testathons, to Tutorial office hours, I realize how far I have come. I am also reminded of what it was like to be absolutely new to open source and to the community. Although I still feel somewhat new, I’m not a deer in headlights anymore. I’m still trying to find my place in open source, and the best way to do that is to continue showing up and continue helping out. One small PR at a time, one small review at a time. One little blog, one little video…