I believed I could do it. And now, I'm doing it.

I set a goal at the start of this year to write at least 2 blogs per month. It’s now the beginning of August and I’ve posted a total of ONE blog thus far. I could probably give you a million totally valid and understandable reasons as to why that happened.

• I joined a competitive Salsa team that took up 15+ hours of each week

• My sister moved to Oregon and I was helping her move

• I wanted to prioritize my familiar relationships

• I became a serial hostess and organized monthly events with my friends

• I started a book club and we read 101 Essays that Will Change the Way You Think by Brianna Wiest

• I started volunteering at the Arizona Humane Society

• My car had a ton of mechanical issues in the last few months

• Etc. blah, blah blah…

I can come up with endless excuses, but the truth is that it was only recently that I truly started to believe I could make this work. That maybe the world does want to hear what I have to say. Maybe I am creative. Maybe I do have something worth sharing. Maybe the hours and hours that I’ve dedicated to this passion project will pay off. Maybe all my ideas aren’t crazy and I just need to develop better time management skills so that I can make it all happen. 

I used to be so overly worried that people would look at my content and cringe. That my friends would make fun of me for trying to be an influencer. And the truth is, some of them did. 

But guess where I am?

I’m sitting at Klika Hostel in Bocas del Toro, Panama. It’s almost 4AM, and I know this much: 

I did it. 

Not only did I pack up my bag and leave Arizona (again, again), but I’ve already collaborated with 4 local tourism companies, am working with 4 clients across the United States and have only been gone for 39 days.

I’ve worked with a surf school, a pizzeria, a horseback riding center,mental health coach and more! 

I’m doing it!

If I sat down for a drink with 16 year old Scarlett, I don’t think she would believe me. But I don’t know if it would be starting or ending with the fact that I’d be having a glass of wine (I’ll save that story for another time). My plan at that age was to make it through the hell I called high school, get as many scholarships as I could so I could actually afford college, graduate somehow, and get the 9 to 5 that everyone talks about to set me up for life. Eventually meet a nice guy, get married and have a few kids. Maybe travel here and there when time and money allowed. Boy, was I wrong. 

I can’t tell you exactly when my plans changed. It definitely was not overnight. It was a slow gradual kind of burn. The kind where you don’t even realize you’ve reached the end of the candle until it’s burnt out. If anything, I can say it started when I was 16. I guess it all goes back to that age…

My sophomore year, our biology teacher took 70 students to Italy & Greece for spring break. Not only did I come back from that trip with the sweetest & most romantic boyfriend (it was Italy after all), but I came back having discovered that the world was a lot bigger than I had previously been led to believe. 

One thing led to another and I spent a semester in college studying abroad in Florence, Italy (still my favorite place on Earth).

And that led to going back for 5 months last year on a work exchange. And that led to here and now. 

I also can’t lie to you and say that I found confidence in myself and pushed forward without hesitation. No. It actually took a village of people encouraging me, supporting me, and taking a chance on me. They are the ones that not only proved to me that I could do it, but proved that I already was doing it. 

My mom, of course, has always believed in me. Even if she wasn’t really in the loop about what it was I was trying to accomplish. My boyfriend was a huge driving force. My friends that spoke up and let me know they saw my efforts. My mentor, Aiesha Beasly, most recently gave me the catapult I so desperately needed. Thank you, all of you. I wouldn’t have been brave enough on my own.

And now, in the last week, news broke that my alma mater, Arizona State University, would be opening up the first ever Content Creator degree at a university. Two thoughts went thru my mind:

1. That’s crazy! No way people take it seriously.

2. About. Damn. Time.

As someone who had to actively seek out a mentor, I know I could’ve saved myself about a million headaches and mistakes and obstacles. Aiesha shared soon after the official announcement that the content creation industry is only going to continue growing. It’s already sitting at $250 billion globally! As someone who wasn’t on social media until she was 16 years old, I really did not think I would choose this path as my career. 

I honestly thought I would be a graphic designer, a banker or maybe even a lawyer if I got desperate. 

But a content creator? Starting my own business as a Marketing & Design Consultant so I can travel freely and with more flexibility than most Americans can even dream of? Waking up every morning in the Caribbean with the ocean less than 10 steps away? Collaborating with companies I didn’t even know existed 30 days ago? 

I believed I could do it. 

And now, I’m doing it.