I’m thrilled to announce that my first hackathon…

I joined Neighborhood Hacks hosted by MLH over the weekend, and this is my reflection.

Usually, when you look at LinkedIn posts, I guess they start something like this, “I’m thrilled to announce that…” or “I’m excited to announce that (won something or got an amazing job offer).” Well, I’d also like to start with that but with a slightly different story.

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve joined my very first Hackathon and didn’t win anything!!

One crucial thing I learned throughout the pandemic is that you don’t always have to win to prove that you’re good enough. Your value will manifest when you genuinely start embracing and valuing your process and projects, whether you win or not. I’m not saying that I don’t like winning and getting prizes, but my point here is that you can find a more profound rewarding moment when you start LOVING the process regardless of what you gain. Those prizes and trophies don’t always define who you are and your values.

When joining this Hackathon, at first, I was afraid of teaming up with random people. Also, I wasn’t confident enough with my process. Although new experience always excites me, you know, it scares me A LOT at the same time. So what I did was just register and think about what I can do with this mess next thing in the morning 😅. However, even tho I didn’t win anything from it, I don’t know how I can explain how much I’m flattered and proud of my team and the outcome of our project.

To me, team members are just as important as myself.

I again wanted to deliver my thank you msg to the amazing developers full of potentials, Teja from India, Asel from Sri Lanka and Mark from New York. They’ve been very encouraging, supportive, and motivating throughout the hackathon journey. You know, when would I be able to work with people from another side of the globe, if not now?! How exciting is that!!

We met only about three days ago and worked two full days pulling an all-nighter together LOL. +It was also my first time working with actual developers! I wouldn’t deny that I was super hyped to see them making my designs feasible right in front of me!! Legit, I just melted (never mentioned this to my teammates, but hopefully, you’re reading my reflection article by now 😜)

I’m writing this to not forget what I felt and learned. A feeling of joy, achievement and growth. I value and appreciate this process; therefore, I wanted to record it in writing as part of my growth journey!

Guess what my next article post will be about 😉✌🏻 Here’s a link to our project > > Locals