When a Side Quest Feels Like Life
By Luca Bonafede · June 1, 2026
Tonight I want to write about a concept that I've only recently given a name to, even though I've been experiencing it for years.
The side quest.
Anyone who has played a video game knows what a side quest is. It's the optional mission. The thing that exists outside the main storyline. The detour. The distraction. The thing you're not technically supposed to be doing.
But lately I've been wondering if some of the most important moments in Life begin exactly that way.
A midnight message asking if you want to meet for a drink.
A coffee that was supposed to last twenty minutes and somehow turns into an entire afternoon.
An extra shift at work after a night when you barely slept.
A temporary job in a place you never planned to visit.
A last-minute invitation.
A random conversation.
A spontaneous yes.
A side quest.
By definition, these moments sit on the edge of our lives.
They're not the plan.
They're not the routine.
They're not the main quest.
And yet, sometimes they feel more alive than everything else.
Travel made me notice this.
I've spent years moving between countries, cities, jobs, and projects. Along the way, I've accepted temporary opportunities that weren't supposed to mean much. A short-term role. A seasonal job. A brief romance. A project lasting only a few weeks. Something to do before the next chapter began.
On paper, they were side quests.
Temporary.
Secondary.
Almost accidental.
Yet when I look back, many of those moments shine brighter than entire years that were supposedly part of the main story.
Somehow, a few weeks can contain more Life than a few years.
Maybe that's because we spend too much time confusing structure with Life.
We assume that Life is the career.
The routine.
The university.
The plan.
The carefully organized calendar.
The perfect relationship.
The next promotion.
The next move.
The next milestone.
Everything else becomes a footnote.
But when I look back on my own Life, it's often the footnotes that carry the story.
The moments I remember most clearly rarely arrived through planning.
They arrived through participation.
Through curiosity.
Through saying yes.
Through stepping into situations that offered no guarantees and no clear rewards.
They arrived through side quests.
We've all experienced this.
Someone asks, "What are you doing tonight?"
Nothing extraordinary is supposed to happen.
You almost say no.
You almost stay home.
You almost choose predictability.
Instead, you go.
And years later, that evening is still alive in your memory.
The strange thing is that we spend so much energy protecting the main quest that we sometimes miss the moments that make the story worth telling.
Perhaps side quests feel so alive because they temporarily free us from the illusion that we are in control.
The routine tells us what tomorrow looks like.
The side quest doesn't.
The routine is familiar.
The side quest is uncertain.
The routine is safe.
The side quest asks something from us.
Attention.
Curiosity.
Presence.
Maybe that's why time feels different inside these moments.
Maybe that's why a few unexpected hours can leave a deeper mark than months of ordinary Life.
The more experienced I get, the less convinced I am that side quests are actually side quests.
Looking back, many of the experiences that shaped me most began as detours.
A conversation.
A trip.
A temporary job.
A chance encounter.
A spontaneous decision.
At the time, they felt like interruptions to the story.
Now I realize they were the story.
And perhaps that's the lesson.
The main quest is often what we think our Life should be.
The side quest is where Life quietly waits for us.
Sometimes all it takes is saying yes to Life.
Thank you, and ciao for now.
Luca Bonafede