Hello beautiful souls! My name is Melanie and I am the proud owner of VividBloom, located in sunny Southern California. My creative journey began in May 2014 as a hobby and has evolved into a successful business that has allowed me to realize many of my dreams.

Throughout my 26 years of life, I have been led by my own ambition to make the most of my time on Earth. As an eager learner, I crave new experiences and desire continuous growth. I have used my hardships and struggles as opportunities for growth. I know that I have an unlimited capacity to make my life whatever I wish it to be. So, when life throws bricks in my direction in an attempt to knock me down, I take each brick in my hand and lay a strong foundation on which I can continue to build myself up.

With this mindset and the love and support of others, I have been able to achieve many goals in my short life. In 2013, at age 20, I bought my first home and began providing for my parents. A couple of years prior, my parents had lost their home due to the bad economy and other hardships. I worked tirelessly to get my family out of a small apartment and back into a house that felt like home. I faced obstacle after obstacle and was repeatedly told I was too young to buy a home. I was denied loan after loan, but I persevered. Buying a home was one of my greatest accomplishments, and since then I have set big goals for myself.

In 2016, I graduated from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) with my bachelor’s in psychology. That same year I also landed my first job in my field, as a Board-Certified Autism Technician and Family Advocate. Unfortunately, due to the demands of graduate school, I recently had to resign from this job in order to focus on my final year of school. It was an absolute honor working with such amazing, hard-working and successful children and their loving and dedicated families. Watching my kids progress over time and grow into happy and healthy teens was a fulfilling and inspiring experience.

I am now a graduate student at the University of Southern California (USC) pursuing a master’s degree in social work. As I complete my last year of school, I am also simultaneously interning at McKinley Children’s Center as a Foster Care Social Worker. Working at a foster care agency has been an intriguing, eye-opening, and rewarding experience.

My goals for the future are to pursue a PhD and someday open my own practice in which I can serve children, youth and families. Until then, I plan to continue to support and advocate for our youth and families in hopes of creating a better tomorrow for all. I want to instill hope, confidence and resilience in others so that, together, we can tackle the challenges we face today and achieve the impossible because things are only impossible until they are not.

So, you maybe wonder how my small business plays into my all of this. Well, it has made many of my dreams and goals possible. My customers made it possible for me to buy my own home and keep a roof over my family’s head. My supporters allowed me to support my parents. My customers also helped put me through school. Without my business and supporters, I could not afford to quit my job to focus on my final year of graduate school. I am beyond thankful for all that my customers and my supporters have done for me. You have all helped shaped the person I am and the person I am becoming. You have helped me create a brighter future for myself and allowed me to fill my life with peace, love, joy and passion. Your kindness inspires me to pursue my next big goal of paying it forward. I plan to use the knowledge from my personal and professional experiences to positively impact others and give back to the community that has given me so much.

Thank you again, for supporting small businesses and big dreams!