On Attending My First Hackathon

Last weekend, I attended my first-ever hackathon, and to be honest, it was nothing like I expected. I teamed up with a friend at the very last minute, mostly as a way to put myself out there and widen my network. Since 2025 is the year I decided to step out of my comfort zone, this seemed like a great opportunity. I used to share my progress and stuff online, but recently, I’ve been looking for more personal ways to connect with people. So, I figured attending an in-person event might be a better way to do that.

With no concrete plan, we came up with a small project on the spot—just enough to boost our participation points. But honestly, I wasn’t in it to win; I was more interested in the networking side of it. However, things didn’t go as I had hoped. Maybe it was because I wasn’t fully engaged in the competitive aspect, or perhaps my nature made it difficult to connect with others. Either way, I didn’t meet my goal of forming meaningful connections. Maybe next time!

That said, it was fascinating to observe the energy of the hackathon. Seeing teams pull all-nighters, debugging seriously, and creating impressive projects in real-time was inspiring. This was my first in-person tech event, and while I didn’t love my personal experience, I still found value in simply being there and soaking it all in.

The highlight for me was just watching the final project demos. Some ideas were cool—teams presenting AI-powered tools, complex web apps, and other stuff built in under 36 hours. That perhaps gave me a reality check that I wasn’t locking in enough. But, the energy in the room as people showcased their work was fun, and I just loved the dedication everyone had.

Would I attend another hackathon? I’m not sure yet. But if I do, I’ll go in with a different mindset—perhaps with a clearer objective or a better strategy for networking. For now, I’ll just take this experience as a stepping stone in my journey of putting myself out there.