This year, my goals include eating cleaner, exercising regularly, and trying to do homework as soon as it’s assigned instead of waiting until the last minute. But I’m adding a new one – side questing more. In the midst of schoolwork and college, it can be easy to fall into the cookie-cutter lifestyle – class, library, food, dorm, repeat. There’s an expectation to constantly be booked and busy. Don’t get me wrong, I think being busy is a great thing and a privilege in itself. However, I forget too frequently that I go to school in Los Angeles, one of the biggest cities in the country. I plan on taking full advantage of that this quarter by saying yes to more spontaneous moments, adventures, and moments that I don’t typically make room for in my schedule.
What exactly is “side questing”? According to Google, a side quest involves “intentionally detouring from daily routines for small, fun adventures”. To me, these are low-stakes events that are neither considered productive nor related to daily tasks. It’s accepting spontaneous decisions that come to you, like trying new cafes, taking a route you don’t usually take to class, saying yes to a last-minute social event, or doing things alone. In addition, I’ve been curating a list of places and things I want to do to maximize the privilege I have being based in LA. Some of the things on my “LA Bucket List” include going to the Griffith Observatory, hiking more frequently, line dancing, and walking to PopUp Bagels. So far, I’ve walked to Erewhon from campus – definitely expensive, but in my opinion, worth it – visited the Getty, and tried a few cafes in Westwood.
Of course, this isn’t a novel idea that I’ve invented – being more spontaneous has always been a popular goal of many online. Why is this gaining traction? From the few miscellaneous excursions I’ve been on, I can sum up my thoughts on why side questing has trended consistently on social media. Throughout my first quarter at UCLA, so many people asked me what I thought about the move from coast to coast, especially being in such a large city. Each time people asked, I kept repeating that I hadn’t had the chance to get out to really explore Los Angeles – and eventually, I started to ask myself why I hadn’t. Once I started to take more time to enjoy myself and my surroundings, I found that my stress decreased and my levels of happiness increased. It’s a simple way to push against the constant pressure to grind. College should be more than a race to fill out a checklist. We should learn to allow ourselves to have fun and stray away from the track. In 2026, side questing can teach us to have an appreciation for life and the privilege we have to be able to indulge in such activities while we’re young.