Hello there, if you're reading this then you are probably interested in open-source and would like to contribute to projects. Well, I don't have the complete guide but I hope this article helps you to understand that you only need to start with the skills you have whether it is in android or web development, design or technical writing.

I am a front-end developer who is venturing into android development. I've always wished to contribute to open-source since I learnt of programs like Outreachy and GSoC. I also wanted to improve my skills by contributing to real projects hence I began my journey of searching for open-source projects to contribute to. I got to know of the Public-Lab project through my high school Technovation mentor (who had been an Outreachy Intern)Ceciliah Mbugua. Since I had never had any experience contributing to open-source before I was given a first-timer issue to guide me through. It was the most detailed guide, with other contributors always ready to help me through. But I still had problems with creating a pull request and identifying the issue number. Either way I was helped through the process by the author of the issue Tilda Udufo. My commit was reviewed and I got the comment "LGTM" I was anxious because I thought I had not done something correctly. I had never heard of that word before so please excuse my ignorance. I quickly searched for it and when I found out it means "Looks Good To Me" I was thrilled. Next, I received the message that my commit had been merged and the excitement of my first successful pull request was so immense I promised myself to look for chances and projects to contribute to.

This is how I came to hear of the OSCA Open-source challenge. This was the best opportunity to test my contribution skills while helping in a project. I am a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador and being part of the program means I and other MLSAs come up with ideas and projects that contribute to the success of students in learning about Microsoft technologies. The perfect project presented itself as The Imagine Cup Learning Project for high school students. It is a E-Learning website which provides functionality of the students registering in any course and watching its related videos to learn about various Microsoft Technologies and then participate in the junior Imagine Cup Competition. Since I was now conversant with the process and rules for contributing, I couldn't wait to add on to the project. I made changes to the README file and created a pull request. It was reviewed successfully, merged making me proud of my second successful contribution.

So far I have two merges under my belt and I though it is nothing to be really excited about I view it as an achievement. I can't wait to see what my open-source journey will look like since it has been kick-started by the OSCA Challenge. Till next time!