Talking about the many contributors to Drupal 8.5, a few of them shouted out on social media that they got their first patch in Drupal 8.5. They were excited but admitted it was more challenging than anticipated. It's true that contributing to Drupal can be challenging, but it is also true that it will accelerate your learning, and that you will likely feel an incredible sense of reward and excitement. And maybe best of all, through your collaboration with others, you'll forge relationships and friendships. I've been contributing to Open Source for 20 years and can tell you that that combined "passion + learning + contribution + relationships"-feeling is one of the most rewarding feelings there is.