As we turn the page to 2024, I reflect on a year that was nothing short of transformative. 2023 was a year of learning and growth. Most importantly, I finally transitioned into the exciting world of developer advocacy! Buckle up as I dive into the highlights, the missed shots, and what’s on the horizon for 2024.
🙌 What I Accomplished: Community & Connection
Joining Grafan Lab’s developer advocacy team meant diving headfirst into a dynamic ecosystem. Here are some key highlights:
- Community building defined my year! I co-organized a whopping 29 meetups, with 13 dedicated to Grafana & Friends. I am most proud of:
- Contribute to several thriving local communities: Software Crafters Barcelona, Cloud Native Barcelona, Grafana & Friends Barcelona.
- Co-organizing not one but two Global Day of Code Retreat in November.
- Being constant in providing a recurrent space for Coding Dojos every two weeks for the whole year!
- I supported TechFems as they embarked on their new journey to empower women+ in tech at the end of 2023. The volunteer team is most impressive and inspiring!
- Helping revive the Cloud Native Barcelona meetups. It was a pleasure to kick things off with the CNCF Cloud Native Sustainability week. And I loved joining the Kubernetes Community Days Spain team.
- A big shoutout to all the fantastic hosts, co-organizers, and attendees who made this possible. It takes a city!
- Inspiration. I repeated as a judge for Technovation Girls. So many girls gather worldwide to tackle the UN 17 Sustainable Development goals! Their projects are an inspiration.
- Grafana contributions. I focused on supporting the vibrant Grafana k6 community in the forums. I felt appreciated and learned immensely from users and our skilled and patient k6 core developers. I also contributed:
- Leading the k6 and Grafana forum unification.
- Documentation updates.
- I dabbled in minor code contributions in … Typescript! Learning JavaScript on the job was a bonus!
- Expanding my Network. I enjoyed several conferences: BilboStack, KubeCon & Cloud Native Europe, Fosdem, Spring I/O Barcelona, Software Crafters Barcelona (volunteering on our 10th anniversary 🎂), and DevOps Barcelona. This allowed me to meet developers, other advocates, and allies while reconnecting with old friends.
- Growing With a Supportive Team. Last but not least, a huge thanks to the fantastic developer advocates team at Grafana. Their support was vital on this new path: David & Pepe, Melori, Paul, Nicole, Leandro, Marie, Matt, Usman, and Antonio. And to my favorite tech writer, Matt, who has unwavering patience with tech writer newbies like me and for sharing his knowledge.
On a more personal level, this year marked the final return to normal after the pandemic. Not only were community meetups back with regular attendance levels, but I was also able to get back on the road and explore new hobbies:
- I enjoyed Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band concerts in Washington and Barcelona. They were finally back on the road!
- Explored new cities like Nice, Antibes, Monaco, and Oporto.
- I visited Madrid a few times throughout the year. My favorite one is to meet Elastic support engineers at their Support Summit!
- I indulged in some Lego-building therapy.
- I started cycling regularly in Barcelona with Kleta while doing AquaFitness 5 days a week!
- And celebrated the end of the year with the coveted 1-year Grafana Labs mug.
🙇♀️ What I Wasn’t Able to Achieve: Lessons Learned
Some unforeseen circumstances brought their own set of challenges in 2023:
- Health Hurdles. Navigating health issues from September to December presented unexpected roadblocks. This meant stepping back from commitments like TestingUnited and PulpoCon. Facing these challenges head-on became a valuable lesson in self-care and pacing. And lots of patience in navigating the public health system.
- Backup Plans Matter. While unplanned conference absences are never ideal, lesson learned! Having a co-speaker for PulpoCon ensured the workshop ran smoothly; thanks, Daniel! This experience reinforced the importance of having backup plans whenever possible. I understand the impact last-minute changes can have and that any help smoothing those is much appreciated. Being an event organizer myself, I should never forget that.
- More focus on tech writing. I improved my writing skills thanks to Matt Dodson and Google’s Tech Writing course. I wish I had taken more time to practice the writing craft. I realized I had so much to learn; consistency is the best way to continue improving.
The most important learnings from 2023 are:
- The importance of self-compassion.
- Set realistic expectations.
- Have flexibility to adjust plans.
📅 What I Will Focus on in 2024: Setting New Goals
2023 was a year of growth and discovery as I navigated the world of developer advocacy. While I achieved more than I ever anticipated, I also learned the importance of pacing myself and prioritizing my well-being.
Looking forward, I’m taking a more fluid approach to my goals for 2024. Think of these as aspirations. These are exciting possibilities I’ll pursue with flexibility and openness to change.
Community & Advocacy:
- TechFems, Technovation Girls, and Local Communities. My commitment to these initiatives remains unwavering. My core values are supporting women in tech and fostering vibrant local communities. They infuse me with so much energy that keeps me going the whole year.
- Safe Spaces for Speakers. I’m passionate about creating welcoming environments for speakers. I’ll seek opportunities to provide platforms for diverse voices, especially first-time speakers.
- Fosdem & DevRoom Management. Exciting opportunities ahead: Volunteer at Fosdem again and contribute more by managing a DevRoom. I’m eager to help in this incredible open-source event made by the community for the community.
- Connecting with local Grafanistas. Help create spaces for the Barcelona crew at Grafana to meet like HackUPC.
- CNCF Ambassador. I’ll work towards becoming a CNCF Ambassador.
- I’ll continue to support the TAG Environmental Sustainability initiative. It aligns very well with my passion for collaboration and sustainability.
- Co-organizing the first in-person Kubernetes Community Days Barcelona sounds like a stimulating challenge. I’m excited to contribute to this valuable event. I am forever thankful to the DevBcn team for hosting us.
Technical Growth & Skilling Up:
- Grafana Loki Journey. I will embark on a learning path to explore Grafana Loki OSS Deployment. This will expand my technical knowledge and understanding and allow me to dive deep into Grafana.
- Tech Writing. I will regularly blog and contribute to Grafana documentation and tutorials to hone my technical writing skills.
- Coding Dojos & Architectural Kata with Software Crafters Barcelona. I will continue to co-organize Coding Dojos. And I plan to co-facilitate an architectural kata around monitoring & alerting. Giving back to the Software Crafters Barcelona is fulfilling in so many ways.
- CKA Certification (Stretch). Pursuing the CKA certification would be rewarding. I’ve been meaning to for years. And I’m pretty sure this will again fall through the cracks.
Conferences, Travel & More:
- KubeCon & Cloud Native 2024 Europe. Speaking at this prestigious event is my dream. It would be a remarkable achievement. I’ll submit proposals and keep my fingers crossed!
- Women in Tech Mentoring: Supporting women in tech remains a priority. I’ll actively seek opportunities to connect and empower others. I learn so much from supporting others to succeed!
- Conferences. I plan to attend Fosdem, KubeCon & Cloud Native Europe, Google Cloud Next, PulpoCon, and DevOps Barcelona. And possibly the Mobile World Congress. It would be my first time there. Exciting possibilities!
- I must remember to write about these experiences!
- Travel. I’ll explore Brussels, Paris, Mallorca, Lisbon, London, Amsterdam, Prague and Athens. Some for the first time!
- Reading Revival. I’m rekindling my love for reading paper books. I’ll set a goal of 12 books, 6 work-related and 6 for pure enjoyment.
- Continue cycling, AquaFitness, and add other fitness activities like Zumba.
- And, of course, some Bruce Springsteen concerts: Madrid & Prague, here I go!
I must remember these are aspirations, not rigid goals. I’ll embrace the unexpected, focus on my well-being, and celebrate every step along the way. Here’s to a year of learning, growth, and meaningful connections!
