#SinceIStartedWithMagento happened so much – and now, I’m awarded as a Magento Master for the second time and I’m still wondering how this all could happen!

 

„Me? On stage? NEVER!“

I never thought, that I would make presentations on stage. NEVER. But the first time I went on stage, I „tasted blood“ (I hope this is a worldwide saying… otherwise it sounds… weird…. But if so, it means, being on stage is pleasant).

What I learned:

to overcome the imposter syndrom (okay, not entirely, I’m still working on it…).

„Asking for help? I can’t…“

Perfectionism is a bad companion. He never leaves (there’s no cure), but Magento forces you to ask for help, so he gets pale. I’m sure,  no one can develop anything with Magento without asking somebody somehow… After whispering a question, I never had the feeling to be stupid. On the contrary, everyone made me feel like I’m a smart person.

What I learned:

Nothing bad will happen if I ask for help.

„I don’t like to call attention to myself“

Well. This is fighting with my desire to bring people together. Organizing a meetup or an event means: everyone knows who you are, you talk to so many people, you say „hello“ and „what happens next..“ in the front of a group of people. And so, anyway, you call attention. It’s not comfortable to be in focus, but relax, that’s the way it is.

What I leaned:

It seems that people don’t think I’m boring or unlikable or painting sings with a „GET AWAY“ label…

„My english is SO BAD, I can’t speak“

My high school has been a while… Reading in english: okay. Listening: not so great. Speaking: „dntaskmeanythng“. Writing: my daughter is proofreading my blog posts. But more and more she says „it’s fine, nothing to improve“. Maybe because she’s 16 and it’s getting a little old to help her mom… I consider not to aks her to much… Overall: it’s getting better every day. And maybe it’s not that bad and I have to merge this fear with the imposter syndrom…

What I learned:

English. With cards. TV shows. Books. And last but not least: I’ve learned to make mistakes (or learned to ignore mistakes…)

„No one takes me seriously because I’m female“

That’s one of the strangest fears. But to be honest: it exists. I don’t know exactly why, I’m still exploring. It’s there. I’ve never had bad experiences with other developers or clients (not that bad, that it causes neurosis, no „bad thing“ has been commited), but I’m sure, that (some) people are thinking „she’s not as good as a male developer“ (oh…. and maybe that’s true… I’ll merge it whit the imposter and perfectionism syndrom…)

What I learned:

Calm down. Listen. Talk to other weird female devs… Find things that you have in
common!

„I’m not worth to earn much money“

The unemployment rate is higher in Europe for women and women earn on average less than their male colleagues. And I noticed that I don’t dare to ask for the same hourly rate as my male collegues. That definitely has changed.

What I learned

If clients don’t want to pay my rate, they have major losses if we don’t work together.

„I’ll never run in Central Park“

HAHHHHH. WOOOOHOOOO. I’ll run there. In April. Thanks to Magento, which gave the reason to fly to the USA. Again.

What I learned:

Sometimes dreames come true.

In summery:

If Magento wouldn’t have found me – or the other way around, I would have most likely missed:

• so many great people
• being on stage
• asking for help
• calling attentions
• speaking/writing english
• travalling alone to an unknown country and fulfilling some dreams
• feeling worth

So thank you, Magento and big thanks to everyone in the community who noticed and mentioned me. I learned so much about Magento and me within the last years…  I crossed so many lines.

AND I’M NOT FINISHED!

I’m curious about the next year and everthing with a „2“ in it’s name. 2018. Magento 2… Carmen2Imagine

And now the curtain falls… (I have to write this line because of the last card).

And here are the cards: