Meet Melissa
30 years old
Why are you still single? I want to say ‘God only knows,’ but sometimes I think he is just as confused as I am.
What’s wrong with you? I have a long list…feel free to add to it. ::face palm::
If you could create any calling, what would it be and why? I say absolutely bring back the old ‘Road Shows’… and put someone in charge of it.
What is the worst date you’ve ever been on? I love telling my stories, and for the most part I am willing tell most of mine. But I do refrain from telling most of my date stories because I had a Stake President give me the advice (at a stake conference not a one and one advice) of not talking about dates for the sake of not analyzing people’s behavior. But I do have quite the collection of date stories like we all do. I wouldn’t say that any of them are “worst dates” as I think back at most of them as hysterical moments of my awkward moments. So here is one of them: Met this guy and had we totally hit it off. He played football for a certain local red-team and he got my number and set up a date immediately. We had been talking about our movie likes and dislikes so he said that he would pick a movie and pick me up that weekend. The night of the date he called to say he was running late and asked me to meet him at the theatre. I’m not one to be super complicated so I agreed and met him in the lobby. He ran into the lobby gave me a quick hug as he handed me the ticket as we ran into the theatre just as the movie was starting. Then the movie unfolded…he had chosen to take me to see My Sister’s Keeper. A horrifyingly sad movie about a parent’s choice to have a second child only to raise her in purpose to save their oldest child’s life and the battle around that. I won’t lie I shed tears… and my date… sobbed. Like ugly-cry sobbed through the whole movie. Everyone around us rubbernecked to see if things were okay. I didn’t know what to do. He continued to cry as we walked out of the theatre. I tried to make a joke “next time I pick the movie…” and “well that was a fun light comedy”… nothing. I am all for a man crying. Sobbing even… sure. The movie certainly warranted it. He was silent all the way to my car where he gave me a side hug and then walked to his car. Never to be heard from again. I wonder if he lived the same situation. Why he picked the movie? Did he know that was what we were about to watch? Was the whole thing was a joke? So… that happened.
If you could pick one church official to read you a bed time story, who would it be and why? Henry B. Eyring or Bruce R. McConkie. I love their voices. Their tone and the cadence in the way they speak. Plus, I have the greatest memories listening to their words.
Where did you grow up? How does this influence who you are today? I moved quite a few times growing up and I think it wasn’t so much where I grew up but the fact that we moved often that had a great effect on who I am today. The first time I remember moving was from Cedar City to Kearns, Utah as a young child. I cried myself to sleep for three months straight. My heart was broken over lost friends. Since that move keeping friends has always been a deep part of who I am. I had pen pals from every place I lived and vacationed, and thanks to facebook the endeavor is much easier. Let it be known that if you are a friend of mine, you will always be a friend of mine. It’s too hard on my heart to let you go, so I just won’t bother.
Where are you now and how did you end up here? I work for Utah Symphony | Utah Opera and am lucky to be heavily involved with the Arts and Improv in Salt Lake. I moved to Salt Lake to teach high school theatre 5 years ago, but I moved in the middle of a school year. I figured I would waitress at Denny’s or something for a few months to tie me over financially but instead one of my best friends pointed out a job at USUO and I have been here ever since. Every so often I get this itch to be in a classroom because I love it so much, so I teach community classes and speak to youth groups to suffice my love of working with teens and the Arts.
What’s something totally off-the-wall that you find attractive in the opposite gender? Facial Hair. I think the general opinion from women towards facial hair is “nah,” but I love it. Not particularly partial to any design of facial hair but I notice a man with facial hair over his clean shaven friend 9 out of 10 times. Maybe this isn’t as “off-the-wall” as you are looking for; I could also add tattoos, a man who hates sugar or someone who doesn’t know how to dress.
What is your biggest pet peeve in relationships? I have the best reactions to things that scare me… or so I have been told, but I don’t love when boyfriends exploit that. It’s silly, but for example… I am actually afraid of velociraptors. So you may think its hysterical when you pretend to be one to scare me… UNTIL I accidentally chuck a bunch of glass plates from the cupboard at you. Whoops?
What do you feel is your biggest asset in relationships? I can watch the same movie and read the same books over and over and be thoroughly entertained. Odd details will always stick with me, but all in all I will always be surprised at the plot turns and happy endings. This means I can also listen to the ONE story from your college days over and over and still be entertained. Nothing fake about it, I truly enjoy it every time. Also, I will choose to watch the movie ROCKY over THE NOTEBOOK every day of my life.
Tell us more about the game you created, Witness Protection Program? Witness Protection Program is a game that Jon Scott and I created a couple years ago. It is a combination of your favorite old-school games like hide-n-seek, sardines, mafia and murder in the dark and is perfect for family parties or groups of friends. We had been introduced to a game that had a murderer, witness, and doctor by a friend and had so much fun playing that we took the game to a whole new level and expanded it by over 80 more characters. We joined the local board game designer’s guild and playtested the new game there and with our friends and family. And after a successful Kickstarter campaign this spring we are officially published! Soon you will be able to purchase through our website gamenightheroes.com.
What does membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mean to you? In short because of my membership in the LDS church I have been introduced to prayer, to scripture, to revelation and above all to my relationship with my Savior, Jesus the Christ. I would have loved and served others if I had chosen any or no religion, but studying The Book of Mormon and being apart of the restored gospel continues to bring a peace and direction to my life. Knowing that I can know for myself the mysteries of God through personal revelation has created anxiousness in my desires and goals on a day to day business.
Do you feel there is truth for everyone in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? (For example, do you believe people who don’t believe 100% of the gospel still have a purpose and place in this church?) Yes, I do but don’t misunderstand me on this point. I have never believed we are all on the same path in this life. We are each entirely unique and because of that our individual journeys back to our Father are matchless. What is glorious about our incomparable lives is the all constant God and his desire to have all, not part, of his children return. He has a plan for that process and a way by which we return. And with that I do believe we all have a purpose and place within the organization of the Church. What stops us from being able to embrace and understand our place are the cultural expectations and traditions that we place on each other and ourselves. If we focus on what Christ would have us do and be we find a place for our individual talents as we help each other along this path back to Father. The truth is constant and is ever-growing, the purpose is individual and the place is so very important. 
If you would like to be featured in the Single Spotlight email Richie@TheCulturalHall.com