Hello! My name is Citlali Diaz and I am currently 17-years-old and a senior at Hueneme High School. I have one little brother who loves to bother me at all times of the day along with my two young cats who are constantly making a mess in my room. Oxnard has been my home for all of my life and though I hope to move out of the city or even out of state to go to a university, I think it will always be my home in one way or another. I am Mexican through both sides of my family which is why Oxnard’s large Latino population and culture has made the city a wonderful place to live, especially since many people celebrate a lot of the same traditions I do. For example, Day of the Dead is one of my favorite traditional celebrations; I love the bright colors of the cempasuchiles (Mexican marigolds). As much as I love my culture, I thoroughly enjoy learning about other cultures from other countries. I’ve been lucky enough to do this by visiting 9 other countries, including China, Italy, France, and others in Europe. I hope to continue to be able to travel in the future, although right now my goals are concentrated on academics. As mentioned, I plan to go to a university after I graduate high school and hope to major in English. Currently, my career goal is to become an English teacher. Perhaps my goal will change with time, but I hope to continue to study literature because my favorite pastimes and passions include reading and writing. Other pastimes of mine include baking and listening to horror fiction podcasts such as The Magnus Archives. A random fact about me is that I love to memorize — I’ve memorized three different Shakespeare monologues and where all the countries of the world are located.