Decoding GitHub Repositories: A Leap Into the Unknown
My second post for the Outreachy May '23 cohort
Hello everyone, Chidinma here! I'm back with more tales from my thrilling experience with Outreachy.
This time I will write about an open-source term I learned during my application period with Outreachy.
PS: This is the blog post for week 3.🎉
Shall we?
The Double Whammy - Two Projects, One Journey
During my Outreachy application phase, I juggled not one, but two projects - Oppia and Metal³. The struggle was real and so were the challenges! With Oppia, it was all about curating lesson content and testing the website, but with Metal³, I had to morph into a coder.
Yep, you heard it right! Metal³ wanted us to craft a mock landing page using only HTML and CSS. Now, as someone whose life revolved around words, not codes, this was like embarking on a quest to become a wizard overnight.
Curveball: What in the world is a 'GitHub Repository'?
Just when I started getting the hang of this coding thing, Metal³ threw another curveball - we had to create a 'GitHub Repository' for our landing pages. Now, what on earth was a GitHub Repository? It sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie!
Adding to my confusion, the Metal³ community was hosted on Slack, not on GitHub. Imagine being thrown into a football field and asked to play basketball!
I was too embarrassed to ask for help on the community page. Everyone sounded like they knew what they were doing - saying technical coder stuff. They were miles ahead, and I felt I was just playing catchup.
Taking the Plunge: Asking for Help
Despite these challenges, I remembered my core value: kindness. Asking for help was not about admitting defeat but about taking a step toward growth and understanding.
So, I reached out to one of the most patient and talented product designers I know, David Fayemi. David explained what a GitHub Repository was and even guided me in creating one. Here's the repo we created and the live landing page we managed to deploy on GitHub pages!
Check it out!
Again, what is a 'GitHub Repository'?
So, let's simplify this 'GitHub Repository' thing. It's like a big storage room where all the project files live and breathe. We're talking code, project description, issues, bugs, and so on.
It tracks every change made, helping folks work better together. It's a bit like a project diary, keeping note of all the tweaks and transformations. Sounds simple, right? Not to me it wasn't!
The Journey: Triumphs, Lessons, and a New Adventure
Despite the ups and downs, I ended up in the top 5 at the end of this assignment. Although I didn't intern with Metal³, the journey was nothing short of priceless. It taught me that it's okay to not know everything, and even better to reach out and ask.
The most fantastic part? This wild ride led me to a successful application with Oppia. I found my place and my community. I couldn't be happier!
A Piece of Advice: Don't Hesitate, Just Ask!
Here's a small piece of advice for anyone out there who's unsure about asking questions - go for it! It's completely okay to not have all the answers. Remember, every question you ask is a step towards understanding and growing.
So, until next time, keep being curious, keep learning, and above all, be kind to yourself. We're all learning together in this great big open-source world.
Byeee!