Shyrwyn Clemente

Hey there!

I’m Shyrwyn and here’s my story:

After working nearly 5 years in a corporate job in Paris, I realized that the IT career wasn’t for me. So on November 2015, I decided to quit my job, my friends and my family with no plans but to travel in South America for 4 months.

I wanted to find my “thing”.

I had BIG plans for my new life like building an online business from scratch and making a living out of it in San Francisco within a year but nothing prepared me to what actually happened:

  • During my solo trip I met Davidson (on my very first day in Brazil!), who’s now my husband (since September 15, 2018 ❤);
  • We traveled together 5 months in Southeast Asia trying to build our first online business…
  • …which led to multiple breakdowns;
  • We went broke and were struggling to make end meets…
  • … and that’s when we learned that I was pregnant;
  • We moved back to my parents and I felt like a complete loser;
  • I tried many different activities, such as Photography or Crochet, to figure out what’s my “thing” but all of them led to a dead-end;
  • On August 3, 2017 I gave birth to our first daughter Ellie after an emergency c-section…
  • …and got really depressed about it for at least one month;
  • Later on, I decided to work on publishing my first book which is known today as First I Was Naive;

What’s “First I Was Naive”?

First I Was Naive is my first book published on Amazon.

It’s my story told through my journal from December 2015 to November 2016. It tells what happened since I quit my job and travel solo to South America. What were my struggles, my ups and downs and also my love story with Davidson, how it all began 🙂

How did it all start?

Back in February 2016, while Davidson and I were waiting for a bus to get us from Brazil to Peru, I read him some lines of my diary in which he was mentioned. That’s when he told me for the first time that I should publish my diary. I immediately rejected the idea because it’s my diaries. It’s not meant to be shared. But after my many attempts to find my “thing” (and the many times that Davidson told me “you should publish your diary!”), I had nothing left to do but working on this book project. I told myself “I have nothing to lose anyway…”

Ellie was only a couple of weeks old when I decided to give it a shot. I felt like quitting many times when I started to work on the project because I felt embarrassed by some stuff I wrote back then. But I’m glad I went through it because I could see how much I evolved throughout the year.

Why am I writing?

I started to write on a diary back in September 2015. I felt the need to write down my thoughts to understand what was going on in my mind because I had so many internal conflicts going on like:

“What?! You’re gonna quit your job and travel solo in South America? Are you crazy?!”

“Well, yeah so what?”

“You still have to pay your student loan!”

“I know but I have some savings.”

“You don’t even know how to speak Portuguese nor Spanish!”

“I know how to speak English ^^”

“You’re gonna get robbed and raped!!”

“Naaah I won’t!”

“Just go find another job. Traveling solo is not for you”

“But I don’t know what career I want to pursue. I don’t wanna work in IT anymore.”

As you can see, I was confused and lost. Some might even call it “crazy” lol

I use my diary like a Pensieve (yes I’m a Harry Potter fan ^^). I write down my thoughts as they come and go. Sometimes it makes sense and some other times it doesn’t. It helps me to free my mind from mindless thinking and to “watch” my thoughts.

Working on First I Was Naive made me realize that I love writing. It took me some time before embracing it but today I can definitely say that writing is my calling. I’m still figuring out how I’m gonna manage to make a living out of it but so far I’m loving my journey 🙂

What am I writing about on my blog?

I started this blog back in February 2016 when Davidson and I decided to work on my first online business idea. Even though few months later we gave up the idea, I kept writing on my blog sharing my thoughts and lessons learned throughout my journey.

My blog is where I try my hands at different writing style, so don’t be surprised to read some Haikus or travel posts as well 🙂

13 random facts about me

  1. I’m French-born Filipina.
  2. I understand Tagalog but I don’t speak it.
  3. I’m 1.50 m/4’11” tall.
  4. My favorite TV shows are: Friends, Breaking Bad, Better call Saul, Game of Thrones, The Crown, The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family.
  5. I always fall asleep when watching Star Wars.
  6. I have 2 big brothers and 1 little sister.
  7. When I play video games, there’s only one game I can be obsessed about: Anno 1404 and all the other games in the Anno series ^^
  8. When it’s summer, mosquitoes tend to bite me more than anyone else in the same room as me.
  9. I still suck my thumb (even though unconsciously) at night when I’m sleeping.
  10. I have a bone growing on the top left side of my head. Nothing to worry about though (I made some tests). I told Davidson that it’s because I’m a unicorn 😂
  11. Last time I read the Harry Potter series again was in 2016/2017.
  12. I love make-up and I’m especially obsessed with eyebrows… don’t ask me why. I don’t know! lol
  13. I run 2 to 3 times per week since I turned 30.