Embracing the Unknown: How a Quarter-Life Crisis Led Me to a Life of Adventure | Nomad Engineer’s Journey to Life

I started this blog as a way to release the frustrations I felt in life. It became my outlet to express emotions I couldn’t quite put into words until I discovered my true passion for the mountains. It was then that I decided to embrace the digital nomad lifestyle, a journey that transformed my life in ways I never expected.

The year 2021 marked a turning point—a pivotal chapter in my life where everything seemed to unravel. Each day felt like an uphill battle, with stress building and suffocating me. Waking up no longer felt like the start of something new; it was more like a nightmare I couldn’t escape. I struggled to understand life and my place in it, drowning in a sea of questions that left me emotionally drained.

“Why am I here?"

"I want to be better, to do more, but I can’t because of all these responsibilities. Why do I have to carry so much weight?"

"How can I move forward if I’m constantly held back?"

"What am I doing with my life? How am I so small compared to others I know?"

"Will I ever improve? How?"

"I want more - more success, more freedom, more meaning - but how do I balance it all?”

It was during this time I came to realize I was experiencing what people call a quarter-life crisis. At the time, I didn’t even know it existed, nor did I recognize that I was already living through it.

Circumstances pushed me to leave home and make a bold leap into the unknown, moving far away from everything familiar and without anyone close by to lean on. For six months, I lived in a small apartment in Baguio City, a place that felt both like a dream and a challenge. Those months tested me in ways I never imagined.

I was scammed on an apartment rental, forcing me to live in a transient bed for four days while searching for a new place. Then, I contracted COVID-19 and had no one to care for me. I had to crawl across the floor for two days just to prepare a meal.

Though I’d lived alone before, the crushing sense of isolation and helplessness left me in tears for days. I couldn’t tell my parents about it. I didn’t want to worry them unnecessarily, and besides, there was nothing they could do from so far away.

In those six months, I often felt like a lost soul, wandering through a city I barely knew. All I had was a backpack and my work laptop. As the weeks went by, I started journaling beneath the shade of the pine trees. What began as random thoughts soon turned into drafts on my laptop, which ultimately led to my first blog post. That’s when blogging truly found its place in my life.

The initial posts published online were about life lessons as a 28 year old computer engineer [balance, forgiveness, fuel yourself]. I consider all those three the spark that ignited my passion for writing and sharing my journey.

As I continued drafting and publishing, I began documenting my travels, which eventually morphed into hiking guides. What I didn’t realize at the time was that, through creating these posts, I was also rediscovering myself.

Looking back now, I understand that my frustrations stemmed from stagnation. I had outgrown the version of myself that was stuck in the same place, surrounded by the same people, in a world that no longer fit me. I needed to break free from the confines of that small world, to explore beyond my comfort zone, and to challenge myself in ways I hadn’t yet imagined.

Sometimes, the only way to truly grow is to step outside the familiar—to live somewhere unfamiliar, to embrace challenges, and to push past limits that you once thought were unbreakable.

And that’s how I became who I am today. Through the highs and lows, the trials and triumphs, I discovered my passion for the mountains, for travel, and for life itself.