How JournQuest put me on the road less travelled

Kent Lapuz

I have been part of Explained PH for an entire year now, but I only took the massive opportunities it gave me in the latter half of the year. I joined as a graphics volunteer thinking I would just be boxed in the routine task of designing explainers, thumbnails, and the occasional special graphics when Alex Eala wins a game. 

In an organization as established as Explained, I thought I would have no place in the organization to make a meaningful impact. I’ve never been proven more wrong. I partook in a variety of activities being hosted by the org such as its annual NSPC coverage, JournUnleashed, and now — JournQuest. Not as a run of the mill staffer, but a recently promoted Editor-at-Large. But the promotion, for me, was far from being a badge of honor. It meant the stakes were higher for me.

The title had no solid job description, especially in a work environment as unpredictable as Explained, so it was easy to feel lost in the position. And this is precisely what I felt a few days into my promotion. 

Hence, I felt like an imposter in a room of extremely qualified people. Like everyone was  just way ahead of me and whatever decision I would make with my newly-given authority would cause us problems. Nevertheless, I needed to prove myself. On an almost completely impulsive decision, I joined the Manila Bureau and the Executives on the first leg of JournQuest and despite having shown up to multiple events already for the org, this one felt extremely special to all of us. It showed us the sense of community and scale that Explained PH has built over time. And it also showed me that I am now on an extremely unconventional path in college.

While the majority of my peers are now heading towards their sophomore year, I was put in a position so wildly unfamiliar to me. For the first time in my life I became an irregular student. Not because I failed a course, but because I deliberately made a sacrifice, perhaps a leap of faith, and moved to a university in Manila to make myself more available to the organization that helped me refresh my life. A regular day for me last year would be in extreme contrast to my daily routine today. I’m now in a new university, with new friends, and new priorities — all because of an org that showed me what I was worth.

On my way home from the event, it dawned on me that I’ve turned my life around from my conventional, stagnant, and almost fatiguing life in my freshman year, to one filled with ambition, camaraderie, dreams, and a sprinkle of challenges on top to plant the seeds of growth to someone who has been so familiar with the idea of complacency.

In this path, I will lose the typical college life I thought I would have. But I will also gain plenty more from this more unique path I have chosen, and the memories brought by the days leading up to and after JournQuest helped me realize that the typical way; isn’t always the best way.