The word “questinos” comes from a typo I made back in 2018. I had just returned from a cross-country bicycling trip and my coworkers were encouraging me to start a blog to highlight some of my experiences, and just thinking of a name for the site was challenging enough. In an unrelated task, I typed the word “questions,” but my fingers accidentally mixed up some of the lettering. Nothing new, of course, but this particular mixup made me think. In English, we use suffixes like “…ette” to denote something small. In Spanish, another language I have some history with, “…ito” can denote the same - something small or precious. “…Ino,” in my mind, was this same denotation of the word, “quest,” synonymous with, “adventure” or “journey.” Considering this website was largely, initially encouraged to showcase some of my adventures and journeys, whether big or small, I found the made-up word very fitting for the occasion. Questinos - little adventures.

But the other cool thing about the word, which feeds into another purpose of this page, is that it came from a “mistake.” I think it was one of my best friends, Rick Eggleston, that originally introduced me to the phrase, “turning flaws into features,” and I like to keep my optimistic, appreciative mind on that concept. Life throws us some pretty difficult challenges sometimes, and I think attitude goes a long way in navigating those challenges. I’ve experienced some big “failures” in my life, but what distinguishes those from the typo that birthed the word, “questinos?” I didn’t mean to type that. I didn’t mean to park on the line in the parking lot. I didn’t mean to trip on the threshold in the doorway. We “fail” every day, but something good, I believe, can be realized and learned from every situation. We’re all human and we all do things that don’t quite add up to what we’d hope they’d be, but the only true failure, in my opinion, is not using that experience to grow into someone more prepared to handle that same situation in the event of future recurrence. So in highlighting my “little adventures,” I want to include the highs and the lows, avoiding the false reality that social media tends to portray, while comforting, validating, educating, empowering, others to experience their little adventures and live their best lives. Follow my Instagram for the most recent thoughts and feel free to shoot me a message for any reason!