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My name is Maribel and the meaning of it means “star of the sea and beautiful”.

I personally don't like the name for myself, but people tell me it does suit me. I don't like it because I would want a name to myself and to be “unique”. My dad did name me after my mom, even though my mom wanted to name me Mary Jane.

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One of the cultural foods I like and enjoy is tamales. I like this because I get to spend family time with my parents and grandma while laughing and creating this amazing dish. Tamales are a cultural food made by Latinos. This dish is made up of plated leaves with cornmeal masa. There are plenty of different ways to eat your tamales, for example theirs dulce, pork, chicken, corn etc.

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Another cultural food I like is Cameron's de diabla. At first this dish to me was kinda iffy, but once my moms boyfriend made them. I FELL IN LOVE !!. When making this plate my parents use tapatio, ketchup, garlic salt,or mint garlic, and butter. We sometimes add octopus, and eat this sticky rice/white rice.

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One song I grew up listening to was “Que Tal Si Te Compro'' - Ramon Ayala.

Pero tus familiares de plano

Siempre me ven con triste desprecio

Pero qué tal si te compro

Para llevarte conmigo

Te llevos lejos, muy lejos

Para perderme contigo

Pero yo no te quiero hacer daño

Quiero que seas feliz y dichosa

This is one of the songs my dad would dedicate to my mom a lot, and the meaning of this song is that no matter how far he has to go for her family to like him he'll do it. Anything that is standing in the way of his love will never get to him and that he'll do anything to be with his love.

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Another song I grew up listening to was “Under the Bridge” - Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I don't ever wanna feel

Like I did that day

Take me to the place I love

Take me all the way

I don't ever wanna feel

Like I did that day

Take me to the place I love

Take me all the way

Yeah, yeah, yeah

This is one of my favorite bands my mom has introduced to me and although I haven't done drugs to be clean from them this song also talks about feeling loneliness. Growing up was a hard experience for me especially only having one parent figure for the most part so as I got older I started to understand things more and I've always felt alone even though I knew I had my mom, but knowing I  didn't have another parents always made me feel a type of way growing up. When he talks about “taking him to the place he loves” I in a way connect that to myself because the places I like going are for drives or the cemetery to be able to talk to my dad.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge [Official Music Video]

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My hero will probably be my mom. She encourages and inspires me to do better than anyone in our family. She is someone I have always looked up to no matter what and has always influenced me to do good in life. She always has told me to get a better job to be able to support myself when I'm older. My mom is my hero because no matter how many disagreements we have she has always taken care of me more than anyone i know. She is the person I go to when I don't feel good, when I need a hug, when I need someone to motivate me and help me do better.

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I think jewelry is something big that describes me because I've always loved being able to have nice things on my body. Jewelry is not only a nice thing to be able to have but to me it has many memories and appreciation to it. There was a point in my life that any jewelry I would get I never took off even if that meant it looked too tacky because of everything or I needed to shower or sleep with it on.

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A quote that stuck to me was “un dia a la vez “. This quote stuck to me because everything takes time and sometimes it's ok to take things slow. This makes me feel calm and I push. myself everyday to see what the future has in mind for me because life only gives u one day at a time everyday.

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A tradition that is something big in Latin culture is quinceaneras in other words celebrating a girls 15 birthday party. A quinceañera is a celebration of a girl's 15th birthday, and is celebrated by girls throughout Latin America. In a quince you dance, take photos and just make the most of you turning into a pre adult.

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My religion from my cultural identity is Catholic. I know that there are two different types of religion and I know Catholics believe in the Virgin Mary in other words La Virgencita. I also know that some Catholics/Christans don't celebrate Halloween or other holidays like Easter etc. But being Catholic also means you're able to get baptized, and do your first communion. Although other religions might do these in a different way or maybe the same.

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My ethnicity is Central Mexican American. Although my parents didn't grow up in that part of the country and were born and raised in Los Angeles they still have those Mexican genes in them. I never really knew much about where my parents came from, but they still talk about the hardships of growing up in Los Angeles. Los Angeles is a big city in California located in the U.S and is known for their Hollywood attractions. In Los Angeles there are many great things to do, but for me growing up I was always introduced to low riders and old school music. I never really grew up in the “rich, or middle class” side of Los Angeles, but being able to understand where my parents came from was one of the good things I was able to experience growing up.