Time goes on, years pass and we evolve along the way but seldom do we ever take the time to look back and reflect upon what has passed. As 2022 ended and we stepped into 2023, I chose not to care because nothing that matters has changed, has it? It’s just another year. But that’s probably not the right way to think about it. Attaching some importance to the end of one year and the beginning of another gives us a chance to see how far we have come. So here it goes.

Hi, reader! I am Pooja Sanwal, a tech learner from India. I am learning and practising front-end web development, managing a community and sharing what I learn and build via blogs and tweets. I am here to share what the past year has looked like for me.

The two halves of 2022

January - June 2022

At the beginning of 2022, I was unsure of what I wanted to do with my career. Although I had worked as a content writer before and loved every bit of it, I doubted if I wanted to keep myself limited to it. I knew I had to stack more skills but there is so much to learn out there and so little time to explore everything.

The COVID lockdown was completely over and in-person college had just begun in February. It was also the time when I was battling with the question of whether I should continue writing and get great at it or get into tech. In the same month, I started interning as a creative writing intern for an audio FM platform and got involved with my first-ever tech community- 100Devs. I did that with the intention of pursuing both- tech and writing. But I eventually realized that I wasn’t quite satisfied with the internship that I was doing. I wanted to explore more.

One of the things that Mr Leon, the instructor of 100Devs focused on was networking and how it could get one the best of opportunities. Following him, I started putting a major chunk of my focus on it. I remember using all sorts of platforms to network efficiently- Lunchclub, LinkedIn, and even bumble bizz. Needless to say- I won’t recommend the latter!

How ironic is it that I did not think of networking via Twitter? Little did I know how valuable connections Twitter was going to give me in the future. Unfortunately, no connections that I made during this time persisted but I definitely learned memorable lessons on how to approach people, which platforms to use, which ones to avoid, how to communicate more efficiently etc.

March 2022 was the first time I attend a networking meetup.

It was a career guidance meetup but it served my purpose of networking. I am not the fondest of spontaneous plans and thus the fact that I took the leap and went to an event so spontaneously without thinking twice about it was a big deal for me then. As they say- all firsts are special! I went on to attend a couple of web3 meetups after this and started enjoying it.

July - December 2022

At the beginning of the second half of 2022, when my internship tenure ended, I decided to only pursue tech and focus more on networking and making valuable connections. It was around the same time that I joined Devsnest and volunteered for the community as a batch leader.

August 2022 was when I first found out about WeMakeDevs, then Community Classroom, which was to become my second tech community of the year. I got the opportunity to meet with and learn from amazing people at the first official meetup of WeMakeDevs. It was a delight to be in the same room as people who had achieved so much in the field! They inspired me to do more and do better. I later joined WeMakeDevs as an event manager and worked with great folks passionate about community.

Towards the end of November, we launched a community called CoCode. Going from becoming part of a tech community for the first time to making one has been a full circle.

To summarize

This was the year that taught me a lot- about being a good team member, working with people, making connections, social branding, things in and around communities and a lot more. But more than anything, this was the year that I tried to “figure it out” and somewhat succeed in doing so. I found out what I want to do and why which is the question I struggled with during the first 2 years of college life.

My 2022 self did not have the answer to this question but my present self does and I owe it to everyone who has helped me get here- the people who run these incredible tech communities, the people who support me endlessly, and those who help beginners go from zero to a hundred.

Even though there is still a lot to figure out, I am happy to have clear goals for myself. 2023 is going to be about learning, growing and giving back to the communities that have helped me & continue to do so!

Thank you for reading! I appreciate you.

-Pooja