Front End Design Conference, St. Pete

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the Front End Design Conference in St. Petersburg, FL, which also happened to be the first conference I have attended. There were so many things to learn and so many people to talk to; it was an extremely beneficial experience that came at the perfect time.

I won’t lie, at the beginning of that week I was feeling a little out of steam and motivation. I’m getting my Masters at University of Florida in Web Design and Online Communication. My second to last semester (YAY!) was ending, which meant I had a final project due, on top of my regular workload and this conference. Considering I’m still new to the industry and the fact that school and work are both remote, the conference helped me recognize the tech community and how beneficial it is to surround yourself with people in it.

On Wednesday, I did a workshop for Public Speaking for Women in Technology. At first I struggled with coming up with a topic, what exactly did I have to say that other people wanted to hear? What I realized was that we all like to work hard, but it’s important to work smart in order to rise above the burnout. As it turns out, what I had to say was exactly what I needed to hear and probably something other people can relate to. This took me back to the place of where and why I started and how I found my passion for this field. I figured out exactly what I needed to get my drive back on track, and that was just the first day.

Thursday and Friday were meant for listening to speakers and talking to like-minded people. I learned a lot about the importance of data, project management, semantic HTML, responsive design, JavaScript, and prototyping. However, the topics I enjoyed the most were the Junior Dev, balancing work and life, and the Tech Community. Here’s my recap.

The Junior Dev

Jenell Pizarro is a Junior Developer and this was her first time speaking at the conference. All of the content she spoke about was relatable, but to be honest I felt like I could closely relate to her. I was inspired by her passion, what she had to say and also felt that I could closely relate to what she had to say about this position. Most importantly, she addressed that the Junior Developer likes to ask questions. Considering I’m still in school and learning so much, it’s always reassuring to know that it’s OK (and encouraged) to ask questions!

Tech Community

This wasn’t something that was addressed by one person but a common theme throughout the whole conference. After the workshop on Wednesday I stayed in the same room to finish my final project, next thing I knew there was a meetup group in the same room. Meetup groups are an excellent way to network and learn from each other. My favorite part was talking to people about what motivates them and what motivated them to get involved with coding in the first place.

Balance

The topic of a work/life balance came from Anna Stout, who was also one of the women in charge of the Public Speaking workshop. We had discussed some of this topic when I was trying to come up with a topic to speak about in the workshop. Since I’m still in school and also work, and they are both from home, it’s hard to find that balance of leaving the house and getting away from the computer.

It was nice to know that other people struggle with this, but it’s really important to make sure that we do find that balance that allows us to clear our brains and focus! Doing activities like going to the gym, yoga, reading or socializing with people who you enjoy being around can help with that balance. It would also help to have a space where you can focus on your work and allow creativity to flow. This way when you enter that space, you also enter that mindset.

My biggest takeaway from this conference was how inspiring the tech community can be and how important it is as a developer to surround yourself with like-minded people. I found myself wanting to know what motivates individuals, which I found motivated me. So now I want to know, what motivates you?

Originally published at www.madebymunsters.com.