Maryssa Stumpf doesn't like the word "impossible." A fashion designer, she likes to snip and alter the word, turning it into a bright motto: "I'm possible."

Stumpf, a 19-year-old Vista resident, has spent the last few years developing a fashion do-it-yourself Web site ---- www.missabydesign.com ---- as well as designing, sewing and selling her own line of stylish threads, and writing for Web publications FashionClub.com and FashionIndie.com.

The teen has already designed outfits for pop singers Aly and AJ and also designed and delivered a dress for country superstar Taylor Swift. Most recently, she contributed to a book called "Chicken Soup for the Soul, Extraordinary Teens edition," published last year.

Stumpf is now a Dove Deodorant Correspondent for Seventeen Magazine, a gig that has her blonde locks and delicate blue eyes glowing in a two-page spread in the September issue.

According to a Dove spokesperson, she was selected among hundreds of applicants nationwide to represent the company for her dreams and accomplishments.

It's a huge victory for a girl who has had to temporarily give up on her plan to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles after her father, Ken, suffered two back-to-back strokes in 2007 and the family's finances spiraled downward. The Stumpfs were living in the Midwest at that time, and moved to Vista to get better medical care for Ken Stumpf.

As her mother Debbi Stumpf puts it: "She had to give up a lot to help care for her father."

But the self-proclaimed daddy's girl has no regrets, saying her parents have always shown they'd do anything for her. When she wanted to go jogging at night as a younger teen, her father would drive alongside her. When she needed fabric for one of her designs, her mother would rush her to the store 15 minutes before closing.

"Not being able to go to school, that was devastating," said Stumpf, who was accepted in 2008 to the prestigious and pricey fashion school ---- an alumni roster reads like a who's who in the fashion world and tuition is about $25,000 a year ---- but couldn't enroll.

"I had to push myself into other things because I couldn't go to school. And that's when I started my blog and Web site and started making clothes to sell," Stumpf said. "I was going to do this fashion career, it just wouldn't be through school right away."

She said her success is all about goal setting. "I set goals and I find a way," she added.

Stumpf lives in a Vista apartment with her parents.

Her dad, a 45-year-old former Web developer and previous owner of a real estate management company in Indianapolis ---- now has limited ability on his right side, walks with assistance and isn't able to speak much. Her mom, Debbi, 40, works in publishing. The family has two sons, Brenton, 18, and Kenny, 23, who still live in the Midwest, where they are both attending college on scholarships.

Maryssa Stumpf, who works part time at Legoland, still wants to go to the Fashion Institute, but for now, she's saving money and collecting experiences.

As a Dove correspondent she's already been to New York City twice to meet with fashion mentors and learn about the industry. In November she's slated to be in Seventeen Magazine again.    

Every day, she said, she's plugged in and connected, writing fashion content and creating her increasingly popular "Monday Match" feature for her Web site.

Every weekend she finds a photo of a celebrity in a fashionable outfit and provides her fashionista readers with more affordable alternatives from stores like The Gap, Target, and Forever 21.

She also tapes her own do-it-yourself Youtube videos, showing ladies how to create fashionable duds and accessories on the cheap.