Who You Are Matters

 Hi! My name is Ryan Melsness and I am from Ventura County, CA. I grew up in the small town of Somis, CA which is nestled alongside groves of oranges, lemons, and avocados directly in the middle of Malibu and Santa Barbara. I come from a family of four with three dogs–my mom, dad, sister, two maltipoos, and a chocolate lab. I am well on my way to graduating from USC this May and hope to be progressing towards living a very happy and fulfilling life surrounded by the people I love. I hope to get there through hard work, following my passion, and surrounding myself with like-minded individuals who are also ambitious, intelligent, and supportive. 

I am like my dad because I am hardworking, ambitious, have a love for sports, and have a dark sense of humor. I am like my mom because I am kind, caring, empathetic, and organized. I am unlike my parents because I like to do a lot of things that they don't like and have not done in their lives. I love backpacking, camping, skiing, snowboarding, concerts, festivals, and surfing; all things I picked up over the years on my own. 

I have developed some expectations for myself and there is a small part of me that is operating under someone else's expectations. I know that my dad wants me to be successful in the field of business similar to him, and my mom wants me to do something where I will make a lot of money. However, I also want to be successful and make a lot of money so while there is some outside influence from my parents, I have similar expectations for myself. 

Someone other than a relative that lives life with great passion and personal responsibility is my best friend, Anthony. He is very inspiring as he works extremely hard, has encountered many difficulties and roadblocks in his life but has never given up and continues to work very hard. He continues to do things he likes to do while also maintaining a very balanced and productive schedule. 

A wild animal that I feel a special connection with is a dolphin. I love dolphins as I see them when I am out surfing and I rode/played with one in Jamaica on a family vacation when I was younger. They are beautiful animals that glide through the water with grace and elegance. There was a very special tree in my backyard that had these small little red berries that would grow from it. It was a very large green tree that had lots and lots of leaves. The leaves smelled crisp and refreshing and the berries were fun to play with as a kid. I used to love going out to that tree to sit under or climb up and just think about life. 

Lastly, my sun sign is: Leo; My moon sign is: Aries; My Rising sign is: Scorpio.