Maybe the point is not to excel
A jack of all trades is a master of none. This saying well describes my journey through a myriad of interests and activities.
From a young age, my mother enrolled me in a variety of activities, believing in their benefits. For instance, when she learned that swimming could help with asthma, I soon found myself learning to float. I vividly remember my voice lessons, where my teacher introduced me to the scales with “doe, a deer, a female deer.” Despite her instructions to breathe in specific patterns, I struggled to grasp the timing, often finding myself overwhelmed by the complexity of it all. I also tried my hand at dance by auditioning for a workshop. As expected, I didn’t succeed. But it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience because you would never see me auditioning for dance again. When I bought a guitar because it was needed for school, I was confident that music was already my calling. Soon, all I learned was how to tune the strings.
Although I prefer reading over watching TV, I decided to give shows a chance. I transitioned from crime and mystery K-dramas to romance and youth Chinese dramas. Despite not being a fan of Hollywood productions, I enjoy watching selected shows with my family.
In addition to these pursuits, I experimented with making resin hair clips, hoping to turn this hobby into a business. I could, but eventually, the spark died and everything felt too hard to do, too busy to try again. I also made a chunky yarn bag, which I was proud of, but after completing two—one for myself (which broke) and one as a gift—I didn’t see myself holding the yarn again.
My exploration extended to content creation, where I ventured into vlogging and video editing. Although I received some positive feedback, I eventually decided to step away from social media, leading to the closure of my accounts. I also dabbled in painting with leftover art supplies from high school and took inspiration from others to annotate books and decorate journals. I even enjoyed organizing spreadsheets and collecting receipts, though many eventually gathered dust.
Lately, I’ve also realized there’s nothing wrong with having multiple hobbies or jumping into new things without being instantly good at them. We’re not meant to master every single interest that sparks our curiosity; some things are simply meant to be experiences, not higher achievements. Every attempt, whether it lasted a year or a week, feels like another piece of myself that I’m slowly collecting. I’m still
gathering who I am through the things I try, the things I leave behind, and the things I may return to someday. And maybe that’s enough—maybe that’s the point.
There is no harm in trying, you either get what you want, or you learn from it. Let your hobby be the comfortable nest that catches you when you feel like flying in this world is too much to bear. My early experiences in different pursuits have shaped who I am today. These diverse experiences highlight my tendency to try new things without necessarily excelling in any one area. Despite the challenges and occasional disillusionment, I do not regret exploring a wide range of hobbies.
I would not stop telling people to be comfortable in being uncomfortable. If you have the privilege to explore, take it. If you feel like you’re stuck and struggling to figure out what’s for you, know that you are not alone. Someone else is on the same page as you. Everyone else was on the same page before they figured out what was for them. The internet offers a wealth of information; you can take it from there: search, try, search, try, search, and try. Your hobby can be about writing what you feel, and it does not always have to be good.
You can make mistakes in the tenses or forget to add a period at the end of your sentence. Your hobby can be about going outside and just strolling around. It can be listening to music until you fall asleep. It can be arranging your outfits for future hangouts. It can be about sweeping the floor or cleaning your space. Your hobby doesn’t have to be grand. It doesn’t have to be the trend. Sometimes, the joy of
discovering new interests and learning from them is more rewarding than mastering a single craft.
So if you ever find yourself lost in the middle of trying to figure out who you’re supposed to be, I hope you remember that you don’t have to choose just one thing.
You don’t have to be great at everything you try. You don’t have to rush toward mastery just to feel valid. Explore if you can. Rest when you need to. Quit when it stops feeling like joy. Start again when something new calls you.
And if you ever feel overwhelmed, just know that everyone else is figuring things out, too. I’m still gathering the pieces of who I am, piece by piece, hobby by hobby, moment by moment.
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Renea Valdez, 20, is a creative writing major at De La Salle University Manila.
