WYSB Presents: Paula S. Robin – “The Secret of S”

By Paula S. Robin

Here’s to flipping some pages back, together. This bio is a sincere invitation and hello to my readers because it can make or break your interest in investing your free time with me. There’s an old adage that everyone has a book inside of them. My passion for writing can be traced back to my love of exceptional storytelling. My father made an art out of telling stories to pass his time with family and friends. I remember being fascinated by this. I love carrying on the family tradition. I’d like to reveal enough to gratify and captivate my audience. Bear with me if I do not disclose all things. I have to save some things to attract and intrigue you with each read. Hello, my name is Paula S. Robin. What does the “S” stand for? Savant is a grand word, but then again so is sanguinary. What’s in a name, identity, meaning, or tradition? Undeniably names hold a great deal of pride, passion, and pain. Let’s keep the “S” a secret for now.

I am the fifth child born to James and Rosa-Bell Robin. When I was almost five, my parents separated for a few months. It was a confusing and lonely time. My mother brought us to a library almost daily. The books I read became my reality. The characters were my friends. Going to the library gave my mother’s life meaning and purpose in a senseless time. My parents had been bringing out the worst in each other after the accidental death of my older brother. My parents couldn’t afford counseling, so they saw a gifted spiritual director who taught them to replace poor coping skills with healthier ones. She also taught them that how they talked about the major events in their life had a profound impact on their personalities, parenting, and behavior. They learned that if they changed their narrative, they then would become healthier, happier people. My parents remained together for the rest of their lives. They emotionally and spiritually grew as partners and individuals. My love for them and for books remains with me to this day. 

Turning the pages one by one. I lived in Texas for 33 years. After my mother’s death, I decided it was time for a change, so I loaded up my truck and moved to California. Like the Beverly Hillbillies, this was quite the culture shock. I would be embarking on a new chapter in a new country. Okay, it was only a different state, but it seemed much further away from where I stood emotionally. The term culture shock was coined in the 1950s, and in its original conception referred to the anxiety that results from “losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse.” It took many seasons of marveling and memorizing the many differences between Texas and California, until one day, the foreign changed into the familiar and some of their ways became my own. Some have not and will never. I worked in Neurodiagnostics for the first 8 years after the move to California. I moved into ministry work and after fifteen years of service, I am now a life coach and spiritual director for a living. My entire life people have told me I should do two things: Become a comedian and write stories. I haven’t quit my day job, but I am writing at night. 

You might want to take notes. I am an experienced and Certified Life Coach based in Los Angeles, California. As a spiritual director, I have served in the roles of RCIA Director, Campus Minister, Youth and Young Adult Minister, and Confirmation Coordinator. The goal of spiritual direction is to cultivate openness and responsiveness to the Spirit’s presence in our lives. I am dedicated to helping people discover their most authentic selves and redefine and discover their purpose in life. I have a deep respect for the diversity of all people. In order to build our relationships, we’ve all had to give little pieces of our story away. There is no relationship quite like the one between an author and a reader. The purpose of this bio sketch is so that my written words can reach out and offer an invitation to those who wish to read the stories that my soul yearns to tell. Writing allows me to create multiple realities. Reading allowed me to experience multiple realities. 

My superpower is that I am an introvert and nostalgic. Silence is not awkward for me. I like to keep my fingers on the pulse of life. I am also insatiably curious. I am not a fan of small talk. I love life and I love to learn. My life has not been an easy life. Losing both parents by the age of 33 to cancer left me bewildered. Bewildered does not mean bitter. After my mother passed, all I wanted to do was live in the now. I didn’t want to live in the past. Regardless of what I wanted; I am nostalgic. Embracing my nostalgia has been a worthful tool for me. I choose to write about what means the most to me. 

The next chapter begins with you and me and WYSB.