It’s wild to think how far I’ve come from those early days of installing Joomla on shared hosting and wondering why WordPress themes broke every time I edited the CSS. Back then, I just wanted to build a simple site. I didn’t know I was about to fall into a lifelong rabbit hole.
Fast forward to now: I’m neck-deep in Docker, pushing changes on GitHub, and obsessing over slick open source tools I never knew existed.
From Drag & Drop to Containers & Commits
Back in the day, cPanel, MySQL, and WHM were my playgrounds — and honestly, they still are. But I’ve evolved.
Today, I’m spinning up Docker containers like they’re coffee orders.
Projects like:
- Homebox for home inventory
- Paperless-ngx for document management
- Snipe-IT for asset tracking
- Self-hosted automations that actually work
Each one pulled me deeper into the world of self-hosted apps, command-line tomfoolery, and community-driven genius.
Why It Hits Different Now
I used to use tools. Now I understand them.
- I version my own config files.
- I fix my own errors.
- I write my own setup scripts (and they actually work sometimes).
- I even learned to use
Git(yes, that Git — fight me ).
It’s a different kind of satisfaction when you solve your own tech problems without begging a support forum for help. But Discord has been very helpful for me with the huge users base on all OS projects.
The Mindset Shift: From Consumer to Creator
There’s something addictive about having control over your entire tech stack.
Need a CRM? Spin up a container.
Want a custom QR inventory system? Use the Homebox solution.
Curious about that new PHP package? Fork the repo and start testing.
Suddenly, open source isn’t just a label — it’s a mindset. It’s freedom.
Meet My Inner Nerd
At this point, I feel like that middle-aged guy with the clean faded haircut, smiling while staring up at my monitor, eyes nearly shut (yes, I got that Japanese-style squint going on ), wearing a “Nano” shirt surrounded by Docker, GitHub, Laravel, MySQL, cPanel, and WHM logos.
I’m not just a user anymore. I’m a builder, a fixer, a tinkerer, and maybe one day — a contributor.
Final Thoughts: Just Start
If you’ve ever said, “I’ll learn Docker someday,” let this be your sign: Start now.
You’ll mess up. You’ll rage quit. You’ll reinstall everything at least twice.
But you’ll also learn. You’ll grow. And you’ll realize that open source is more than just software — it’s a community, and you’re already part of it.
Thanks for reading. Drop me a comment if you’re diving into the same rabbit hole — I’d love to swap notes!
(And yes, that’s me in the cartoon. Living my best techie life.)