Plot twist: Sidequests became my full-time adventure
When I was in senior high studying Humanities and Social Sciences (and then Multimedia Arts in college), I always imagined I’d follow the clear-cut path. Whether that was landing a full-time job at an office, a studio, or an agency, I thought I’d take the typical employment storyline and clock in from 9 to 5 alongside most of my peers.
What I didn’t foresee was abandoning the campaign and turning sidequests into my full-time adventure.
Since I was 15, I’ve been doing small commissions in writing and art. It was a huge deal to me then to be paid P200 (which I now realize is way below the minimum) for my first blog article.
I got more and more gigs throughout college, and it helped with my commute and food allowances. I even got to afford my first iPad, upgrades to my home gear, and even healing my inner child by purchasing tickets to concerts and musicals, books, video games, toys, and art materials I dreamed of having.
There’s this persistent belief that trying too many things means you’re unfocused. But I’ve learned that curiosity isn’t a flaw; rather, it’s a compass.
Straying off the path
Still, I told myself and my family that freelancing was temporary. That I’d eventually get a “real job” for stability. To me, it was the correct way to “win” adulthood: finish school, get hired, stay loyal to a company, and climb the corporate ladder. It was a route that made relatives nod approvingly during family gatherings.
But when you’re a creative, life doesn’t exactly hand you a quest marker. The map branches out the moment you start exploring, and sometimes it completely resets. For me, it was when I met up with one of my friends, who then told me, “Freelancing fits your personality!”
I didn’t think much of it, but their words lingered more than I expected. Suddenly, the idea of working with my numerous creative skills and still fulfilling all my hobbies and niche interests looked like puzzle pieces finally coming together. It wasn’t an instant revelation, but a spark that made me ask myself, “Could I really design a life that aligned with how I work, think, create, and have fun?”
When I told people I was freelancing, I’d often hear “oohs!” and “aahs!” showing interest in my unusual path. Some have even told me I was lucky to find clients early in my younger years. But not everyone shared that excitement, due to the uncertainty associated with being a freelancer. To our elders, freelancing sounds like wandering aimlessly, taking on random missions that don’t add up to a bigger purpose. All the different responses confused me.
However, the further I sidequested, the more I embraced it. I realized maybe the point isn’t to stay on one long linear path, but to keep unlocking new worlds, experiences and skills, even if they look chaotic and challenging from the outside.
Snowballing into a new role
Since graduating, I told myself I’d rest and freelance until I find a decent full-time job. But in this economy, a full-time role can’t exactly give me the things I’m looking for. By the time I was supposed to be employed, some of my side gigs led to more opportunities, and before I knew it, my “main quest” disappeared from my map entirely.
It came in every form imaginable: writing about video games, illustrating editorial art, working with major brands in advertising, managing social media pages for a museum, editing reels for small creators, and much more. On top of that, I’m developing skills by joining mentorships, internships, art markets and self-learning classes in line with creativity and my passions for the Japanese language and culture. Some of these projects thrilled me, while others made me doubt my life choices. But each one offered something new: a skill, a story, or a strange challenge I wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.
That’s the funny thing about sidequests: you rarely realize their worth in the moment. You just keep saying yes to curiosity, trusting that each mini-adventure will somehow connect later. It’s even more fun to catch up with my friends who have been wondering what I’ve been up to and where I've gone. It feels thrilling to share how much of the world I’ve seen in such a short amount of time. Each project, no matter how random, became a tiny piece of my ever-evolving creative identity.
Charting my own map
Looking back, every gig gave me experience points I couldn’t have earned anywhere else. There’s this persistent belief that trying too many things means you’re unfocused. But I’ve learned that curiosity isn’t a flaw; rather, it’s a compass.
And sure, freelancing isn’t always easy. But I’d still pick this unpredictable open-world adventure over a linear narrative. Because here, I get to decide which quests matter and define what “winning” looks like. To me, it’s being able to buy groceries for my family, enjoy a movie solo, or even go to a pop culture convention without the worries of workday deadlines and overtime looming over my head. (Plus, of course, earning way more than an entry-level desk job can give me.) It’s the opportunity to do things I wouldn’t be able to do with the time constraints of a regular job, like take language classes, stream, and read more books.
Heading into the open world
I don’t think there’s a final boss, no single quest that defines “making it.” For others, it might be landing that dream job or climbing the ladder. But for people like me, it’s taking on several detours, even the small or silly ones, that make my creativity come alive.
With that, I don’t know where this path will lead next, and honestly, that’s what makes it exciting. Maybe I’ll stumble into another unexpected project, take a break, or fulfill some dreams that I thought I couldn’t do. What matters is that I get to keep exploring, learning, and creating on my own terms, without rushing to reach the end credits.
