As a student in high school, my fascination with technology started off with Java on NetBeans and MySQL. The notion that some simple lines of code could create something big was really intriguing to me. In as much as I liked programming, I did not pursue a career in CS/IT. To me, the field felt somewhat overcrowded, and hence I decided to change horizons. This came in the form of aviation, where I became a pilot and entrepreneur.
In 2021, during my career, I realized that the aviation industry was not transparent. Pilots, especially in my region, were struggling with important information regarding licensing, documentation, and requirements. Worse, there were those taking advantage of this gap and asking for high fees for simple guidance. This further fueled my passion for creating a free and transparent platform where aviation professionals and enthusiasts could collaborate and share experiences for the benefit of future pilots so they don't face the same challenges we went through.
First, I thought of making a WhatsApp or Facebook group, but it did not feel right. That's when I decided to build my own forum. Though I was used to building basic sites using HTML and CSS, developing a forum was something that I had never tried before. I signed in to Freelancer.com, where the prices fetched by developers were huge, and they said that customization was going to be the real task. That motivated me to do something myself. If they were able to create a forum in 10 hours, I thought I can do it too after one week of learning.
I started looking into forum software through my server's cPanel and came across either phpBB or Vanilla, I don't really recall. Somehow, UI's seemed older, and maybe didn't click. When months later I happened on Flarum-an instant much sleeker-design-and much more modern interface. Inept but excited, I must admit that I fought on and off with how this installation process works. Mostly after the few attempts, I did install Flarum, via a developer, on AWS.
That is when the Flarum community became my guiding light. Members such as @luceos and @SKevo gave generously of their time to help me understand customization, extensions, and troubleshooting. It was the first time I heard of "extensions," and learning how to install and use them was both exciting and daunting. Initially, I relied heavily on the @SKevo and flarum community for support, asking questions no matter how basic or silly they seemed. The warmth and patience of the Flarum community gave me the confidence to keep going.
After a year-long break, I went back to Flarum in late 2024 with fresh vision and determination. This time I was determined to learn all this, from SSH up to debugging, thanks to this community. My experience within Flarum has rekindled my affection for programming and expanded my technological know-how. Till date, I have moved on into technologies such as Python toward real-world applications, and a little more confident in running IT projects independently.
Now, today, my community is powered by Flarum. It's very active at the moment, even though it's niche. The amplification of social media has helped, and the growth is something I wouldn't hesitate to say I'm proud of. The journey got me inspired to make a custom Flarum theme. Although I expect headaches during development, I was looking forward to giving something worthy back to the community that helped me get going with my community. When this is finished, the theme will be open-sourced with invitations for collaboration and contribution to others.
From a teenager fascinated by Java, then becoming a pilot, and initially intimidated by technology or using tools like SSH, to someone confident in his own debugging and development skills—my journey has been remarkable. Flarum has been a platform that reshaped how I view and approach technology, enabling me to reimagine its possibilities.
