We’re looking forward to introducing you to Melanie Mezzancello. Check out our conversation below.
Melanie, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
I love getting lost in creative projects. Last year, I took up watercolor painting. For some reason, I had always felt intimidated by watercolors. I attended one watercolor class at my local arts & culture center, and that’s all it took. I was hooked. I find the creative process to be extremely meditative. Watching the colors swirl together on the paper is so soothing. Hours would pass as I created painting after painting – colorful birds, fish, butterflies, bumblebees and flowers exploded across the pages. I find this kind of painting to be quite therapeutic. Every time I dropped pigment onto the paper, it twirled around in the water like a lava lamp. Watercolor painting really gets me out of my head. Every time I finished a painting, I was astonished that I was actually the one who painted it! I figured out that if I could clear my mind and just let myself go, I could create beautiful works of art. Before I knew it, I had produced enough artwork for a shop on Red Bubble.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello Voyage Tampa Magazine! I’m Melanie, and I am an artist, a dancer and an award-winning author. My book, “Love Snaggs – A Little Dog’s Courageous Journey” has earned many accolades both here in the United States and overseas. A lot has been going on since the last time we chatted! I am still tap dancing, I took up watercolor painting, and I have been studying Flamenco dancing for years now. Flamenco has been such an unexpected joy. After facing so many health challenges, it is so special to have something that makes me feel beautiful. Breast cancer and Crohn’s Disease tried their hardest to steal the good stuff from me. When I’m dancing, I feel a joy like no other. And when I’m performing on stage, the whole world falls away, and there’s just bliss. I have had the honor and privilege of dancing with an amazing group of women here in Orlando. They inspire me so much. It is so special to me to be a part of this dance sisterhood. I never thought that at age 52 I’d find myself back on the stage. And what a glorious journey it has been! Learning this beautiful art of dance has opened up a whole new world for me. I have performed in shows all over Orlando and Miami, and I have danced on some incredible stages, like the one in the Walt Disney Theatre at The Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center. Stepping onto that stage for the first time was an absolutely magical experience. All I could think was, “I’m home.”
And, I’m happy to share that my little family has expanded! My sweet dog Wesley and I adopted a rescued parrot in September. If you have read my book, then you know how passionate I am about animal rescue. Last Summer, I was volunteering at the Seminole County Parrot Rescue & Sanctuary, and that is where I met the silliest little green cheek conure who needed a forever home. Jellybean is a chatty goofball who is so full of love and silliness! He has learned to say his name, which is actually his contact call for me. One of his favorite things to say is, “where’s Wesley?” He loves to dance, and he really loves to laugh! Once he gets going, it’s so funny… the more you laugh, the more he laughs, and his voice sounds like a little cartoon character. He’s also is the perfect model for my colorful watercolor paintings. We absolutely adore him.
So what am I up to right now? Well… I think that times are tough for a lot of people right now, myself included. There is so much instability, and the unknown can be a tremendous source of anxiety and stress. I wish I had all the answers, but my best advice is this… find what brings you joy and immerse yourself in it. Don’t isolate yourself. Surround yourself with people who feed your soul. And most importantly, spend time with the people you love. Life is short, and it can take a quick turn when you least expect it. This is why I choose to embrace the joy in my life. For now, I am happy that a new dance season has just begun so I can focus my energy on doing what I love. So these days, you’ll find me in the studio, dancing with joy, as we prepare for our next series of shows in the Fall.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I’ve had several of those, actually. The first moment came when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease when I was 27 years old. The second one came when I had breast cancer and a radical mastectomy at age 35. Each moment was a lesson, and those lessons gave me further proof that what matters in this life are the people you love and sharing life’s experiences with them. And I think we are meant to really experience the world as much as we can. It’s so easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day troubles and stresses in our lives that we lose touch with the important things in life. You have to follow your passions in life. I’m following my life’s passion 30 years later than I would have preferred, but I am really grateful that I am able to dance and perform. And I’m going to keep dancing for as long as my body will let me. Last year, I was putting off training with the bata de cola – a beautiful flamenco dancing skirt with a long, layered train. I knew it would cost a lot, and deep down I wasn’t sure I was worth it (never think like that, by the way). Then I was diagnosed with a heart condition. It was like I was hit by a bolt of lightning. I bought the skirt, and I’ve been training for a year. Just six months ago, I got another jolt. Someone I love very much and who is extraordinarily special to me was diagnosed with a terminal illness. This one really stings. This individual continues to inspire me every single day. Life is short. Cherish the good moments. We get one shot at this crazy rollercoaster we call life. Dance. Laugh. Love. Forgive. Buy the skirt.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Oh boy, suffering is such a cruel teacher. It can teach you things about yourself like nothing else can. Like many people, I have experienced my share of suffering. I think that suffering has broken me down and reshaped me time and time again. It has forced me to take a cold hard look at myself which, in turn, helped me figure out what I wanted in life, and what I wasn’t willing to tolerate. That last bit is important. There came a moment in time when I realized that I was tolerating all kinds of toxicity, and so I decided to free myself from it. It’s amazing how liberating that was!
Suffering has also taught me that I am so much more than just the sum of my parts. When breast cancer hit, it was such a dehumanizing experience. There were times, sitting in hospitals, wrapped up in blankets when I felt like l was nothing more than a collection of diagnostic test results. During those times I found myself bargaining with the Universe… just let me survive so I can (fill in the blank). When you realize that your “end date” might be closer than you imagined, you stop thinking about the mundane, day-to-day stuff. You have an epiphany that all of that stuff is just noise. Instead, you begin to think about all the things you want to do and experience, and you hope that you still have enough time left to do them. When the disease was done with me, I felt like I had been taken apart but not fully put back together again. And so I had to learn how to put myself back together and find a new “normal.” Suffering taught me that I’m stronger than I ever realized, even when it was rather inconvenient. Believe me, there were times I wanted to give up, and I cursed my strength at those times. Success is easy. It doesn’t test your mettle. It doesn’t strain you to the point of breaking. Suffering forges you in fire. It makes you question everything. But it then it also makes your successes all the sweeter.
Everyone experiences suffering in life. The next time it visits you, ask yourself (after you let out a healthy amount of cuss words), “what can it teach me about myself?” Let yourself feel the pain. Get angry if you need to. And then relax a little because you will probably come out the other side a better and stronger version of yourself. When people learn that I am a Survivor, they always say, “I’m sorry.” I always explain that there is nothing to feel sorry about. All that suffering helped to mold me into the person I am today. And I think I’m pretty cool.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
There are so many ways I could answer this question. I can get pretty passionate about a variety of things. I feel very strongly about protecting the vulnerable and the marginalized, and about taking good care of the Earth and each other. I am very open about my opinions, I don’t shy away from giving them, and I don’t censor myself.
But what really matters most to me is the people in my life. When it comes down to that, I am very careful about who I let in close to me. I gravitate towards people who share my values – honesty, integrity, compassion, kindness and morals. It’s true that my inner circle is very small.
Still, I wondered how my closest friends would answer this question, so I asked them. In a nutshell, this is what they had to say…
“You cherish those who you hold close. You protect them, you guide them, and you provide a nurturing space that reiterates appreciation, acceptance and love. A friend never feels alone with you, Melanie.”
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
Well, I can think plenty of stories that I hope they won’t tell about me when I’m gone… like that time when my coworkers found out where my tattoo of Italy is – curse that acrylic staircase and the long skirt! All kidding aside, I hope they’ll talk about how I loved animals. I have rescued and/or adopted so many animals throughout my life. My most unique rescue involved a large loggerhead sea turtle. My dad and I used to go fishing down on the jetty all the time. One time when we were there, there was a loggerhead sea turtle that was all tangled and twisted up in fishing line and was really struggling to swim. I took off my sandals, put a knife between my teeth, jumped the wall, and I climbed down the slippery rocks into the waves. It was dangerous, but I didn’t care. The turtle would have died if nobody intervened, and these are endangered. I didn’t know how I was going to get the turtle to trust me. It was a lot bigger than it had looked from above. I sat on one of the huge rocks and just started talking soothingly to it. Then I reached for him, gently took ahold of his flippers, and I eased my arms up underneath it and positioned him over my lap. He looked into my eyes, and I said, “I’m not going to hurt you, buddy.” I started cutting the fishing line and freeing his flippers. The waves were big, which made the job more challenging. The turtle stayed calm and just continued to look into my eyes the whole time as I carefully cut one strand at a time of the tangled monofilament, talking soothingly to him the whole time. Once I got all of the fishing line off of him, he relaxed for a few seconds, floating there above my lap. He gave me one last look, and then he swam off. I felt such relief and gratitude in that moment. I heard applause from the jetty, and I climbed back up with all the cut up fishing line and disposed of it properly. That experience was so special to me. The loggerhead was such a magnificent creature. He had such soulful eyes, and I was amazed at how trusting he was. I was grateful that I was able to help him.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melliemezz?igsh=aDlwZ2MxbmhpZTcx&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/MJMezzancelloAuthor/?
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@melliemezz
