Melissa Contreras grew up dreaming of swimming with dolphins and painting circus posters. She tried to become a marine biologist, but got tired of smelling dead cats in class. She stopped painting because she thought she was not good enough and spent years designing catalogs so she could eat. Melissa started drawing again when she realized that not drawing was slowly killing her. She began exploring her own creative ideas again — at first doing crafts, and more recently, illustrations and painting. Foolishly following her heart, she continues to dream and draw and hopefully, one day, swim with dolphins.