Building Something No One Asked For
- 2 minsIt’s 2 AM.
It’s that magical hour where you’re too tired to code but too stubborn to stop. I’m here working on an open source project no one asked for, and definitely no one’s paying for. 😂
It’s been a few months since I started this thing. At first, I was hyped…new project, new tech, new itch to scratch. But that high doesn’t last forever.
Eventually, I hit a wall. Not a bug. Not burnout exactly.
Just that sinking “why am I doing this again?” moment. Lol.
A thought that kept creeping in:
Is this even worth it?
Who’s actually going to use this?
OpenWealth is still pretty under-the-radar here in the Philippines, so am I pouring time into something no one here even needs…at least not yet?
But somewhere in that late-night silence, I realized something:
I’ll never walk away empty-handed – because I’m learning.
And that’s enough reason to keep building. Even if no one’s using it. Especially if no one’s using it.
What I Gained Without Even Realizing It
Even with zero users, working on an open-source project gave me space to grow into a better developer.
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I started thinking beyond just maintaining libraries – this time, I was owning the entire developer experience.
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I got more confident with versioning, semantic releases, and treating the library as something people could depend on.
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Improved my README game. Turns out, people do judge your project by its cover. 💁🏻♂️
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And I started thinking way more about the dev experience: What does setup feel like? How can I make someone say, “Oh, that’s neat,” instead of, “WTF! how do I report this for terrorism?”
To the Dev Who’s Been There—or Is There Right Now
If you’re wondering if it’s worth it…
Every line of code you write, every design decision you sweat over, it’s shaping you.
That growth sticks.
You’re not just building a project, you’re building yourself.
Keep building. Keep learning.
If you’re not evolving, you’re already dying, man.
And yep… it’s still 2 AM. Shit.
Thank you for reading!
P.S. If you’re curious about what I’ve been building, check out OpenWealth Spring Boot Starter and feel free to drop a star if it helps you in any way.
Alvin Cris Tabontabon
An Asian man who codes to eat noodles