Hey everyone, it’s me, Charlotte. This blog space is going to be like my journal to keep track of all my awesome adventures through this journey we call life. Here, you will get to know more about me, my story, my passions, and how I ended up as a full-time wreath maker and holiday home decorator.

I was born and raised in the beautiful coastal city of Sarasota, Florida. In second grade, my twin brother and I placed exceptionally high in regional and state testing and were transferred to Pine View School for the Gifted. Here, I received an outstanding education from some of the world’s best teachers who played a critical role in shaping who I am today.

This was where I first discovered my passion for creative writing. At 12-years-old I completed 11 novels, one of which was a staggering 500-pages. I have always been a perfectionist and highly OCD, so I have always struggled with the publishing stage because my works are never truly finished.

In middle and high school, I got into theatrical arts and decided I wanted to be on Broadway. I took singing lessons, dance lessons, acting lessons, and I even attended musical theater camp each summer at the Player’s Theater. Freshman year of high school, I was accepted into Booker High School Visual and Performing Arts program. I was the best female singer in my grade, and the teachers knew it, but I was never cast in a single school play because of my academic performance (not because I wasn’t smart, I just didn’t try).

I went on to be accepted into New York University’s musical theater program at Steinhardt College in the Summer of 2012. I lived in New York City for a brief period and got to do the whole Broadway experience – and it terrified me. This was when I had my first shocking revelation – I didn’t want to be a starving artist – and I didn’t want to live in New York.

After this, I left Booker and began dual-enrollment at the State College of Florida. Still unsure of my future direction, I pursued film and I graduated from high school in 2013. Since I’d spent the last decade relentlessly pursuing musical theater (completely opposite of film) I still had no idea what I really wanted to do with my life.

My parents placed extreme pressure on me and my brother to go right into college immediately after high school, so I ended up starting (and nearly completing) my first Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education at the University of South Florida. One class away from graduating, I realized that (while I love kids) my heart just wasn’t into teaching – mainly because of the way the cirriculum is set up, the difficulty I had adhering to Florida standards, and how grossly underpaid teachers’ salaries are.

I then switched to a Bachelor’s of Science in Hospitality Management. Here, I established some of my business background in courses like managerial accounting, business management, linguistics, event planning, and food and beverage management. My favorite classes – BY FAR – were at the cullinary institute in Lakewood Ranch. I attended a Beer Science class where me and my teammates won 1st place in our local brewing competition with Big Top Brewery for crafting a White Truffle Kölsch made with truffles imported directly from Italy.

Shortly after Beer Science ended, and sometime around the beginning of Human Resources, I realized that that wasn’t really what I wanted to do either. So I stepped back to regroup and this was around the time my son, Channing, was born.

While hanging out with some of my friends, I mentioned wanting to be a motorcycle mechanic. I’ve always been into adrenaline-related sports, but we’ll get more into that later. One of my friends suggested that I become an aircraft mechanic. He was definitely joking, and didn’t expect me to take it seriously, but shortly after this conversation I signed up at Everglades University and completed my Bachelor’s of Science in Aviation/Aerospace Studies.

During my aviation studies, I took a course in sustainability, which served as a pivotal moment in the direction of my life. I went on to pursue my Master’s in Aviation/Aerospace Sustainability at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, one of the most prestigious aviation institutions in the world. I wrote my 100-page thesis on the role of algae in sustainable development and graduated with a 3.9 GPA (would’ve been a 4.0 if my statistics teacher had actually taught the class… but that’s beside the point).

After a relentless 12-year pursuit of higher education, I’d finally done it. I’d finally earned my degrees. Now what?

I attempted to find a job in aviation for over two years and nobody wanted to hire me without experience – and no one wanted to give me experience to get hired. It was a double edged sword. I was so jam-packed with knowledge from my educational endeavors, ready and eager to apply all that I’d learned, but no one wanted to take a chance on me because I didn’t have the credentials they were looking for.

Many of you would’ve probably given up right then and there, but not me. I just redirected – again.

During my undergraduate degree, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. We were all trapped indoors for nearly a month completely bored out of our minds, and this was where I learned how to make wreaths. I wasn’t good when I started (no one ever is) but I stuck with it and kept making them, and making them, and making them. After about 100 they started to look good. After 200 they started to look really good. After about 500, they started to look like pieces of art.

So during this period of my life, I had simultaneously discovered two very important things about myself. (1.) what was important to me, and (2.) what I was good at. The time had come to combine the best of both worlds.

The funny thing about my story is I have always been subtly guided and influenced by those around me. My mom is the main reason I was nudged into college, and she was also the one who suggested Early Childhood Education. My partner in high school’s step dad was the one who suggested Hospitality Management. My motorcycle-riding friend made the off-hand suggestion about becoming an aircraft mechanic. And my now-partner’s mom was the one who introduced me to wreaths.

I had to sit back and ask myself- “What does Charlotte want?”

Charlotte wanted to be a creative connoisseur – a writer, a singer, a dancer, an artist – to make pretty things, and help save the world… and Charlotte found a way to incorporate them all.

I think the moral of the story is that life is all about finding what YOU want to do and then pursuing that passion relentlessly. Most importantly, learn to be adaptable and live life with no regrets. You are exactly where you’re meant to be, every step of the way, and each seemingly dead end is really just a redirection to another brighter path.

“Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.”

-Lao Tzo