Karen de la Fuente says the world is much bigger than you realize
Art by Angela Pabilona
What you study doesn’t define who you are. Although our educational background makes up a section on the resume, there’s so much more to it. There’s a lot you can learn in school, but the learning doesn’t stop at graduation. The world is much bigger than that.
Karen de la Fuente was like this. She’s a photographer and creative director for the Pinoy band, Ben&Ben, which sounds like a feat in itself. But back when she was in college, she was actually studying to be a doctor.
As a student, Karen always had a go-with-the-flow attitude. She described herself as only being good at subjects she was into. The grade school version of herself was into detectives and crime that, as a kid, she used to look for fake crimes around the campus. But in high school, things just didn’t really stick.
When it came to college, she ended up choosing a course in Psychology. And at that point in her life, she kind of did want to be a doctor. The way when you’re young and the title of “doctor” or “lawyer” gives you the appearance of a stable and assured career. A bright future with more opportunities. There was a part of her that craved that. And for a bit there, she did enjoy all the studying and learning. She genuinely tried her best at it despite not being good with all the memorization that came along with it.
But in college, Karen also learned how much she actually loved music. She had always been an avid concert-goer but the passion amplified from there. And it’s funny because she described herself to never have had a “musical bone” in her body. However, after shooting a punk rock concert, that became her start in music photography. She started attending gigs and pursuing rakets just to keep up that passion.
So when graduation came, there was a part of her that wanted to pursue that field. But the jump was scary. It was scary having spent all those years in Psychology and going for a career completely opposite from that in every way. Until she realized she didn’t want to fear not knowing what could’ve happened if she didn’t pursue it.
At first, the photography gig was only supposed to last for one year so she can check out the scene and try out the job. But more opportunities came in. From music photography, it continued on to moto photography. Then snowballed into being a creative director. Her go-with-the-flow attitude as a student was indicative of how she pursued her creative career and art. She was open to trying new things, expanding her learnings, and the rest was history.
In fact, she even learned the technical aspects of photography on the job. She may have had a creative eye, but practice and connection to the camera came as she was on the field. Since she was in Psychology all this time, those parts were completely unfamiliar. “To become a real student of your craft, kailangan mo lang bigyan ng oras ang pag-aral sa craft,” she says. From learning as she went along to attending more gigs and having a mentor in Niña Sandejas, she went further and honed her art.
Now, Karen may not have become a doctor. But she takes all those lessons on human behavior and condition with her. Her craft conveys the feelings, emotions, and the ‘truth’ of its performances and shows. Her journey may not have been what she expected, but you don’t have to have everything figured out. There’s a world we’re not aware of that you can dip your toes into too. And she’s still learning: “Gusto ko sana maging mas magaling pa dito.”
Feeling inspired by Karen’s story? The career journey doesn’t have to be as scary as you make it out to be! Take our Future Fest Quests here for your first step forward.
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