Choosing to React to Gutenberg

The announcement of Gutenberg in June 2017 altered perspective for many of us in WordPress. Some chose to leave, many decided to “wait and see,” while others jumped in to contribute. How did you react? As an agency owner, I viewed it as an opportunity. It provided me a reason to enroll in a front end developer curriculum, so I could “learn Javascript deeply” per the encouragement of Matt Mullenweg. I particularly wanted to discover what React components were all about and how to use them to improve the user experience. I applied for a Udacity Developer Program and was delighted to be awarded a Google scholarship which paid for my coursework. Strengthening my skills as a front end developer enhances my passion for WordPress and my fascination with Gutenberg. As an agency owner and a writer, learning the code behind Gutenberg allows me to see possibilities I would not have imagined otherwise. It tempts me to explore interactive media in my client work. It expands my technical expertise and increases my respect for forward-thinking developers. Most importantly, it teaches me to value, embrace and contribute to open source opportunities.