The girl who heart holds true to the strength she already knows she possesses. The girl who hides waves of pain behind the brightest smile. The person who faces every day with a smile, even at her worst. Her love as deep as the ocean, a strong girl wishing to be recognized for how rare she is in this world. She wears pain like diamonds. She doesn’t make pain her struggle it’s become her strength. I’m sorry the world has robbed you of your smile, it will soon return. Remember your resilience and how many battles you have faced to become the wonderful person you are today. Your future self would be so proud of the woman you are today.
It’s both a blessing and curse to feel things so deeply in this life. My heart is the most beautiful thing about me. No one has the heart that I do, and that’s what makes me special. In moments when I feel lost I think about this concept. Maybe your purpose is to dream bigger, take risks, and feel deeply because it may inspire someone else’s existence. I’ve always felt different than others having an old soul in a young body, larger than life dreams/aspirations than others my age, and my reality seemed to be something up the clouds rather than rooted/grounded in reality. Maybe my path was meant to be challenging because my calling in life was a higher purpose. My hope in life is to inspire others to never give up no matter what circumstances life throws at you. Even in the darkest moments, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.
At 25, I’ve come to accept myself in all my flaws, imperfections, my past because it all makes me who I am. If I didn’t have harsher lessons earlier in life it wouldn’t have given me the resilience to persist forward towards my dream life. I appreciate the experiences that have shaped me into the person I am today.
The one thing that has always remained is my wish for impact on the world through positivity and kindness. It’s always been my biggest driver in life. I want to be the person I needed when I was younger. That little girl deserves to see someone in the mirror she loves inside and out, and is truly proud of. There were many chapters of my life that were dark gray but a glimmer of light remained. I believe that the light never burned out because my hope for a better life always existed. My dream life existed and now I am on my way to creating the life I’ve always wished of having. Never give up your future is just waiting around the corner!
Today I had the opportunity to interview Grace Smith content creator & founder of Change The Caption Social Media Studio. Grace’s overall brand centers around living a life you love, finding joy in the little things, and being your most positive and authentic self possible. Getting to know Grace, she truly puts her heart into the things she most passionate about, and truly an inspirational public figure in the content creation community.
Was it always a goal of yours to become a content creator/influencer? – Yes! As long as I can remember back I have always loved creating video content. I started filming myself at a young age and was obsessed with the YouTube beauty influencer space. I decided to go for it in high school and haven’t looked back.
What launched you into the world of YouTube & content creation? – My natural inclination to vlog brought me here! Before I even knew what vlogging was I would talk and do things as if I was creating a day in my life vlog. I have always loved chatting with a camera.
What does a typical day-in-the-life of Grace look like? – I would say at this point of my post-grad journey I don’t have a “typical” day routine. With lots of traveling this varies a lot! When I am in St. Louis my day usually starts on a walk with my dog, workout at the gym, I love to enjoy some sauna time right after, I make my morning protein and coffee and typically work from my kitchen island most of the day (this is usually answering emails, working on content calendars for my small business clients, editing content, etc.), and the rest of the day varies based on if I have any meetings or shoots! Currently- I am on a trip so these days look like waking up and walking my dog, getting work done in the morning, and spending my afternoon at the beach, and usually finishing my day with work once everyone else goes to sleep!
How would you describe your sense of style? – I like to keep it fun! Bright colors, prints, and trying new things is my favorite.
What are some beauty staples in your routine that you can’t live without in your collection? – I love my NARS Liquid Blush and my Elf Brow Pencil. Both are my go-to products even if I wear nothing else.
What is your favorite go-to beauty product at the moment? – I am loving my Tarte Glow Drops.
What’s next for you this year in your career? – I want to continue content creation and my social media journey as well as grow my social media management business. A combo of my favorite things!
What inspires you the most in your life? – I get most of my inspo from my favorite content creators and YouTubers! Watching others create makes me want to create more!
What brings you the most joy? – Traveling! I love any destination with a beach!
Is there one piece of advice you would like to give your audience – Follow your dreams even when those dreams don’t make you cool. What you create for yourself will stick with you but the negative voices from others will not.
What inspired you to enter the world of social media & why? – I have been modeling and acting for about 6 years and when the industry shut down during COVID I began modeling for brands at home. That led me to content creation and brand photography! I started posting more and more on social media and eventually grew a following and booked campaigns with larger brands.
Did you ever imagine yourself becoming an influencer? – Honestly, yes. I’ve always been a leader rather than a follower and I like to think of myself as a trendsetter. I love taking photos and documenting/sharing my life on social media so it really is the best job. I have so much fun working with brands and getting to review/share my favorite products with my audience.
Growing up, what was your dream job/profession? – When I was younger if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I definitely would say to be famous… I’ve always wanted to model or act! I have always been creative and loved fashion and beauty.
What advice would you give someone trying to enter a career of becoming a content creator? – Don’t give up! It’s all about trial and error and seeing what works for YOU and your account. It takes a lot of time and hard work to grow your following, learn how to shoot/edit/post content, and work with brands so don’t get discouraged and try not to compare yourself to others. Everyone starts somewhere!
How do you define your personal style? – My personal style is very girly and colorful. I like to go big or go home when it comes to my outfits – I style myself head to toe and accessorize with a bag and jewelry! One word to describe me and my style is EXTRA.
What would you say are your style staples within your wardrobe? – I have so many crazy tops so solid bottoms (skirts, shorts, pants) and shoes are definitely staples. I love a good crop top or tank top or oversized button down that you can style in different ways!
What is your favorite beauty brand? – This is a hard one because I have SO many! I love drugstore beauty brands like Wet n Wild, E.l.f Cosmetics, and Maybelline. Dior Beauty is probably my favorite luxury makeup brand, I’m obsessed with their blush! A few of my other favs are Mac Cosmetics, FENTY Beauty, NARS Cosmetics, and Makeup Revolution. My all time fav is probably Morphe because they do creative collabs with MUAs and celebrities!
In your beauty collection, what are your makeup favorites? – Some of my favorite makeup products are FENTY Beauty’s highlight wand, Charlotte Tilbury’s contour wand, NARS liquid blush, the Morphe x Madison Beer channeling surfing eyeshadow palette, IT Cosmetics your skin but better foundation, E.l.f. Cosmetics’s 24 hour camo concealer, dragun beauty’s pink translucent setting powder, benefit 24 hour brow setter, pat mcgrath’s LABS Fetish Eyes mascara, shiseido’s eyelash curler, and Dior lip oil!
If you have to choose one moment from your career so far, what would you consider to be the best & why? – I was just announced as InfluenceHer Collective’s Beauty Influencer of the Year and I could not be more excited! I’m beyond happy and honored. I’m honestly shocked. It means so much to me to have won! I feel like it really solidifies my hard work to date.
