Meet Paulina Noemi Bylard

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Paulina Noemi Bylard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Paulina Noemi, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

When I think of purpose, I picture my long-term career goals since it took me a very long time to feel courageous enough to take a step towards the one thing I wanted to do, which was writing. Unfortunately, a career in the arts was not viewed in a pleasant way in my household, which led me to feeling pressured into doing something I did not care for whatsoever. I switched my major three times; started with computer science, changed to veterinary medicine after a year plus even got accepted to volunteer at a non-profit veterinary clinic, and then eventually settled for a business degree since I knew it would make my mother happy (she’s a fantastic accountant).

I cared a lot when it came to my mom’s opinion on what degree I would choose for myself; my family consists of business men/women, lawyers, doctors and software engineers, which made the pressure set in quickly. I knew from the get-go I did not want to be in any of those fields, but I knew writing was not an option if I wanted to make everyone proud. After being in school for an extra few years due to changing my major a lot, I finally graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2019; I worked in administration and accounting roles for about five years until I lost my job in 2023 and I was essentially forced to take a good look at my whole life and ask myself the hard questions.

My new schedule consisted of intensive job searching, but I also had an itch to begin writing a new book in order for me to get rid of my stress. After a few months of writing my novel and working on my overall writing portfolio, I couldn’t help but notice the massive change in my attitude; it was hard to ignore how happy it made me, and I slowly started to think “what if?”. My job searches went from business roles to entry-level writing jobs since I didn’t have professional experience; I continued to sit with the idea, still searching as the weeks continued to go by, hoping I’d find a gem of a job to apply to, but the more research I did, the more I found out how most of the stable, writing jobs required at least an English degree, if not an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Writing.

Of course I didn’t have that, and I hoped my writing portfolio would speak for itself, but I had to face reality and think about things differently. Self-doubt started to overcome my initial motivation to go back to school, and I was set on thinking that maybe I was too big of a dreamer, and it wasn’t a good idea. Trust me when I say this thought process continued for another few weeks, until something in me snapped and I decided to start slow and research nearby universities that offered an MFA program. One in particular stood out, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask basic questions.

Well, that led to feeling even more excited, and it took some fear away to try and apply for the 2024 Fall term since applications were still open. I worked on it as best as I could, collected everything they needed, and I hit that submit button. I told myself if I didn’t get accepted, at least I got out of my comfort zone, ignored my doubts and applied regardless.

Fast forward about a month after applying, I get a call and email saying I’ve been accepted into an MFA in Creative Writing program to my top school choice; it felt as if life was giving me a second chance again to do what made me happy and I’ve been rewarded even though I had no idea what I did to deserve it. I couldn’t contain my happiness and I told the few close people in my life on that same day even though I hadn’t officially accepted their offer. Now as I am doing this interview in summer of 2024, I can officially say I will be starting my MFA degree in a few months, and there is no way I could be more excited.

So, how did I find my purpose? By finally accepting what truly made me happy, and not letting my fears dictate my future. It did not happen overnight, in fact it took many years to get to that point, but I believe it was necessary to go through all the doubt and the hard days because it forces one to question the things that matter in order to get to where you want to be in life, plus it helps you become a better version of yourself.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m a self-published author, blogger and a new student in a fantastic Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program. I’ve been writing since I was around six years old, just writing short stories for fun and I published my first novel, Collision, in 2020. Although I knew I wanted to continue to write more books, I also wanted to do other things to build a portfolio, which led me to creating my personal blog, An Author’s Open Book.

I talk very openly about all sorts of topics covering grief, my cancer journey, loss, but also adding in some fun articles where I write about the fun traditions I do for the holidays and much more. I also encourage my social media followers to send me topic requests.

The next big thing I have going on is starting my writing program in the Fall and taking advantage of strengthening my writing skills, meeting people in that community and working hard to be in the professional writing industry. It took a long time to get here, but I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to continue this journey and follow my passion.

Keep an eye out for a future novel by Lina N. Bylard 🙂

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Flexibility, courage and passion.

My personal journey consisted of trying to figure out what I wanted to do in my career, and the pathway to get there certainly required me to have the above three qualities in order to be where I am today. As a person who loves to have control, I had to learn how to be flexible when change arose after losing my job, I had to find a way to gain the courage to take the necessary steps to go into the career I’ve always wanted even though that meant I had to start from scratch, and I gave myself the responsibility to keep my passion alive in order to find excitement in the little things (not just the outcome I wanted) so that I can let the motivation continue.

Everyone’s personal journeys can consist of many things, not just career-wise, so my general advice would be to pin-point what specific qualities are needed to get to your final destination, and not let pride get in the way. Sometimes the hardest part of a journey is asking for help, which is something I needed to do at first, and talk to a friend, spouse, relative or anyone, because it becomes easy to lose yourself in the process and make it harder than it has to be. One can be surprised how much another person’s advice or point of view can help manage your thoughts or think of new things that can be beneficial in the long run.

Practicing basic things such as communication and empathy can make a world of a difference, and it becomes easier finding other qualities to help you reach the finish line.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

I’d say to let things go, and living in the moment, as simple as that sounds. I’ve mostly been an uptight person my whole life trying to think seven steps ahead, getting easily overwhelmed if something doesn’t go according to plan and I’ve immensely struggled trying not to let it overcome my life in various ways. But these past 12 months have been filled with nothing but change, change, and more change …

I had no choice but to face it unless I wanted to give myself a heart attack; to say I was stubborn in the beginning is an understatement, but having something to look forward to was the key I found to appreciating the now because sometimes the journey to get there is what makes it valuable at the end. I’ve learned the hard way not to test the universe, and I had to admit defeat for once because I was mentally and emotionally exhausted from not knowing what I wanted to do in my life and blaming everything else for the “bad luck” I’ve had.

All the change that occurred this past year was eye-opening and humbling, so when a person goes through that, life doesn’t give you much of a choice but to sit down and learn how to take everything in. The more you fight, the worse the outcome will be is what I’ve truly learned recently.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/paunbylard
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paunbylard
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulina-bylard-3a5183146/