Side Hustle · Web Development
My Web Development Hobby
By Rebecca Yener ·
Back to 1999 🦖
This story goes all the way back to 1999. Yes, the age of “What is the internet?” If you were a teenager or young adult then, you might have had the same thought I did: let’s build a website!
I was hooked. My first website was built entirely with HTML, so you can probably imagine what it looked like. Before long, the fad passed, and so did my website.
But my interest in web development never really disappeared. It just had to share space with all my other interests.
A hobby I kept coming back to
In college, I took an elective web development class. By then, everything had changed. There was Dreamweaver and other visual tools to explore. It wasn’t my major, so I was mostly having fun, but I could see how big the skill gap was between professionals and an amateur like me.
You never know which function will get called
The funny thing is, life is like a computer program: you never know which function will get called. 😂
When I was looking for a job in Türkiye, I came across a web content management company that needed someone with Chinese language skills and basic website-building experience. I got hired!
I spent about two years managing web content for Air France and KLM through that company. I learned so much more there, and a hobby I had picked up out of curiosity became part of my working life.
Building for the community
After I moved to Orlando, I wasn’t able to continue in the same job. Around that time, the Orlando Chinese Association (OCA) had just been founded and was looking for someone to build its website. I volunteered.
I built the website, then eventually stepped away from the team because I had other priorities. In early 2026, I decided to return as a volunteer to help manage the website again.
Looking back, I found plenty of funny—and questionable—design choices I had made about ten years earlier! With AI’s help, I can build much more these days, and it has been fun to explore what’s possible.
Still curious, still building
I really enjoy solving problems by building websites, features, and applications. It keeps me learning and up to date, and it makes me feel young and open-minded.
I like fresh ideas and new perspectives. If someone has a suggestion or a challenge for me, I’m happy to take it on. I like helping people, too, so if you need help with a website, I’m right here!