Yesterday I attended the Columbus Code Camp for my third year in a row and spoke there for the first time. It was, as always, a blast to be there and to have the privilege to meet, learn from, and to share my own experiences with the many excellent and passionate individuals who attended and spoke. These are people who took time out of their busy schedule to show up on a Saturday purely for love of the game, not to mention people who spent weeks prepping for their speaking engagements. If you’ve never attended one of these events, I highly recommend it, as the “brain high” you’ll come away with is amazing. I now have a large number of subjects to investigate further (Arduino, here I come!) and plenty of side-projects to keep me busy for the foreseeable future.

Having said that, I’m challenging you, dear reader, to challenge yourself. I want you to become involved in your community, whatever it may be, and to share your own experiences with your peers. Speak, write, attend, be a part of something. Whatever your passion is, you owe it to your peers and predecessors to give something back, because without these people, where would you be? How would you proceed without the encouragement of your peers? How would you know what you know without the efforts of those who came before you and who decided to share their knowledge with the rest of the world?

I know what you’re thinking; “I don’t know anything interesting worth sharing”, or “I’m too new at this to speak”, or “I’m not a good writer”, and on and on. These are fears and doubts which everyone experiences and nothing more. I guarantee you know (probably many) things that others are not aware of in your field, that there are many, many others who are newer to your field than you are, and that there are plenty of others who are less experienced at writing than you. Show them what is possible as others have shown you.

So be the light and the guide that others have been for you. You might just meet some interesting people and have some fun while you do it too.

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