Learning: Starting Small and Going Big

Remember that giddy rush when you first submitted your open source contribution? It's intoxicating, isn't it? That was me back in November 2022, a wide-eyed newbie, changing a default value in scikit-learn and feeling like I'd climbed Mount Rwenzori. Little did I know, it was the first step on a thrilling ascent, with a few treacherous cliffs and hidden paths along the way.

Here's the thing: everyone, big or small, struggles in their open source journey. Learning Git had me wrestling with cryptic commands, my Python skills felt like toddlers compared to the codebase giants, and sometimes, just asking for help seemed like admitting defeat. But here's the secret I learned: growth often hides in the smallest corners.

My secret weapon? Starting small. Instead of staring down the Everest of code, I picked a pebble: a tiny function called get_feature_names_out. Understanding its workings, its connections, gave me a foothold. From there, it was like climbing a ladder, each rung revealing a wider view, each fix fueling my fire.

This wasn't just about mastering scikit-learn. This tiny trick became my open source magic carpet. In Mozilla's Bugbug project, it helped me navigate the labyrinthine codebase, not just for myself, but for others too. It helped me overcome multiple struggles and gave me the confidence to actually contribute to the project. These earlier contributions, paved the way for me to make even larger contributions after my initial Outreachy application was accepted.

Later, during my outreach internship, my earlier BugBug experience became a rocket booster. Familiar with the "start small" approach, I hit the ground running when I had to publish a new model I developed to the Bug Bot project, a completely different codebase. It was like déjà vu, that exhilarating climb, block by block, powered by the magic of understanding the small to conquer the big.

So, fellow budding open source contributors, don't be intimidated by the giants. Remember, everyone, from tiny termites to towering redwoods, starts small. Find your pebble, your function, your bug. Fix it, understand it, share it. You'll be surprised how quickly those small steps lead you to the breathtaking summit of your coding potential.

Because just like in life, in open source, the greatest journeys start with one tiny step.