Conversations with Melina Pelto

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melina Pelto. 

Hi Melina, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My family and I moved to the United States back in 2000 from Bosnia (Europe). I knew that if I wanted to help my family, I needed to do my part by working hard. Even with limited English, I started getting good grades. I received a full-time college scholarship through a program called Collegescholars in elementary school. As long as I kept up with good grades and good conduct, they would pay for my entire college degree. Being a kid, the best part about the program were the field trips. They took us to Cedar Point, parks, boating, Niagara Falls, tubing etc. They also introduced us to people of all walks of life, anyone from an architect to a court of appeals judge. They have given me experiences and life lessons that have helped shape me in to who I am today.

Since I was the oldest child in the family, I always had more responsibility. I took my parents to all of the doctor appointments, I did all of the translating and accompanied them to any other errands that needed to be done. You know you’re foreign when you know all of their information by heart including social security numbers. I started working at a very young age in my apartment building entering data so that I had my own money. I never wanted to be a burden to them because coming to a foreign country with three little kids and not speaking the language was not easy.

Having to grow up fast I always felt that I was more mature than the rest of my classmates. I decided to do the Postsecondary program at Akron University. It’s where you go to college while in high school. The last two years of high school, all of my classes were at the University and I finished an entire year of college doing this.

Before I finished college though, I met my husband. We got married at a young age but we’ve survived thus far, 12 years to be exact.

After having my daughter I kind of lost myself in the process and needed a creative outlet that made me happy. I love the creative aspect of social media and getting to talk to people of similar interests. I started posting on Instagram religiously about different outfit ideas, luxe items for less, sales, reels, and my life in general. During the day I work as a quality analyst for a top 5 national bank. During the nights and weekends I work on my passion of being a fashion and lifestyle blogger. The ultimate goal is to turn this into a full-time career.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely was not a smooth road. I think as the saying goes, anything in life worth having is not easy. One of the hardest challenges for me, in general, is wearing many hats and having work/life balance. Working full time, being a mommy, wife, daughter, cleaner, cook, etc, and still working on my dream is a lot of work. There is only so much you can do in a 24 hrs. so you have to make it count. It’s important to prioritize on a daily basis in order to ensure everything is completed. I always ask myself, “Will this help you further?” It prevents watching 30 episodes of a Netflix show haha.

But in all seriousness hard work and consistency is the key to anything in life. You can’t only show up on the days that you feel like it. You have to show up every day, period. I treat this just like I treat my other job. I have a set schedule for posting and a set schedule for creating and I stick with it.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As I mentioned above I am a fashion and lifestyle blogger on Instagram. There are different ways to make money: commission on all sales, free products for advertisement, views on reels, advertisement on stories and posts. My favorite part is creating the reels. I do one outfit and transition into another using fun “tricks”. I always love seeing the outcome once I record and edit it.

But the end of the day, I want you to think of me as your friend that helps you shop. When you see my account, I want it to make you  feel inspired, entertained, helpful, and overall happy.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I am constantly working on my happiness. I’ve learned as I grow older that happiness is a choice. Even though I truly enjoy the opportunity social media has given me, my ultimate favorite are my daughter’s firsts. Anything that she might be trying for the first time. She’s a toddler and seeing her experience the world through her innocent and lighthearted eyes is the most precious thing to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: Liketoknow.it/melinapelto
• Instagram: melinapelto