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|| Name/Nicknames ||
Itzel Maria Sanchez

|| Age ||
26

|| Gender ||
Female

|| Occupation ||
Florist

|| Orientation ||
Bisexual

|| Time of Occupancy ||
4 months

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|| Apperance ||
It took most of Itzel's childhood and young adult years for her to start loving her hair. The dense and bouncy coils of hair she has now where often burned and mistreated as she grew up. She would damage her hair and straighten it as often as she could-- and when she was unable to she would often wear it up in a bun to hide the "unruly" mane, as she called it. Growing up in household where everyone but her had straight hair Itzel never got used to her curls. While her mother tried to show her how to care for them, Itzel never listened and continue to damage her hair in order to look more like her mother. It wasn't until her first year in college that Itzel finally began to love her curls. It took a bit to finally get the hang of caring for them but ever since she has coiled them around her head. Other times she likes to go to the salon and get box braids or dreadlocks, but that happens once or twice a year. Cornrow braids are her favorite type of braids, but Itzel tried to limit those since coiling her hair and letting it bounce around sounds so much better for her.

With her coiled afro being at full volume, Itzel stands at 5'11 with it. When her locks are braided her stature lowers just 3 or four inches. While Itzel tries to keep herself in shape by running every now and then, the amount of work she has has made her unable to keep up with that routine. So she is left with a little chub around her mid section, thighs, and arms that Itzel doesn't really mind having. Her sun kissed skin is just a bit darker than her mother's. During her teens Itzel was lucky enough to have very light acne so the only scar she has on her face was on a nose. It was the result of some chicken box scar she got from her older brother.

Itzel's fashion is described as grandma-like by her mother and siblings. Yes, her closet does consist of thrifted items and stuff found in yard sale, that doesn't mean that's the only thing she has! She has lots loose cute dresses with floral prints and other colorful colors! .... that tend to stay at the back of her closet forgotten. While she does wear dresses sometimes, they are often maxi dresses (or skirts) that are earthy or pastel colors. When she's not wearing those she tends to wear loose pants with crop tops or shorts with loose shirts that let her move around.

Formal? I don't know her.

|| Personality ||

|| Friendly ||  Outgoing || Impulsive || Passionate || Disorganized || Stubborn || Caring  || Blunt  || Optimistic || Opiniated

Itzel has been struggling with bipolar II disorder for years now, but she doesn't it get in her way of living her life.  Since moving back from San Antonio her mental health has increased even if her days seem to grow busier by the week. She still keeps her chin up with a smile painted of her lips. Her mother has always told her that tomorrow will be brighter no matter how cloudy today looks, and Itzel takes that to heart. It sounds more poetic in Spanish. Anyway, Itzel still struggles to leave the apartment or even bed sometimes. Other days she can't stop working. She feels horrible about it later on, but she has started seeing a psychiatrist who tells her it's okay to take days off to relax or sleep in late. Her brothers could manage without her anyway.

Growing up with three brother can make anyone's skin thick and tough, and Itzel is no exception to that. She can take and return a punch. She's not afraid to speak her mind even when she knows people won't like it. Itzel is fast to brush away an insults directed towards her when her mental health isn't affecting her. When she is going through a depressive episode she tends to shy away from any sort of socialization or interaction with the outside world. She becomes extremely sensitive and lacks any motivation to speak with anyone, even her mother. She has recently started taking new meds that will hopefully help her control these episodes.

Itzel is blunt. She doesn't beat around the bush. She doesn't see anything wrong with it and just tells herself she is being honest. Her mother has told her she needs to improve that about herself, and Itzel tries but she still has problems with her bluntness. Sometimes it gets her in trouble but she is sure that being honest is better than lying or hiding facts from people. Besides, conversations are faster when people go straight to the point.

Dancing and creating is a big part of Itzel's life, she shows her passion through actions and small gestures. She has trouble expressing what she feels in words from time to time so being creative or dancing let's her release some of those feelings. Whether she is feeling like the happiest woman in the world or the most miserable she has certain actions that let those around her that know her how she is feeling. Words were never her strong suit, hence her bluntness. Despite that, she still dances when she is happy, excited or even nervous. She needs to dance and often goes out to local clubs to dance, her favorite being a small club called El Sombrodudo. She loves Fridays especially when they play nothing but banda.

Itzel takes pride in her culture. Disrespect her culture and you will get a piece of her mind. Ask genuinely and she will be happy to tell you everything she knows. Her biggest pet peeve is when people call Cinco de Mayo a big Mexican holiday or the Mexican Independence Day. They are not and she will call you Brad until she gets over it. Which is never.

|| Habits ||

Itzel tends to listen to different types of music when she is feeling certain things. For example, she listens to Mana when she is content and happy or just feels relaxed. When norteñas or corridos start playing she is either lonely, in love, or sad that she wasn't able to get a contract at the shop. Depends on the song really. Aha... Itzel does tend to bite her nails when her stress level rise and talks to herself in Spanish. Actually, she curses a lot in Spanish. Spanish was her first language, so sometimes she forgets how to say things in English and has to think about the translation for a good minutes before she remembers it. There are times where she will ask the person she is talking to, no matter who they are, how Spanish word here is said in English.

When Itzel's mood is on the high levels she likes to hum or sing to herself is Spanish or English, but most of the time it'll be song from either Selena or cumbias. When her mood is on the low she tends to eat a lot. Be it chips, cake, or anything in the fridge. Eating helps her calm her nerves and stops her from drinking too. She's a bad drinker, a total light weight. Am not! Her drunk state could vary from a happy drunk to a horny one or even one that does nothing and cries. When the tears start, get ready for sad songs in Spanish and nothing more. Her go to sad song when drunk is Tragos de amargo licor.

|| Background ||

Itzel and her brothers were raised by Karla Sanchez Castillo in Silvervale. They all lived in a tiny apartment with only two rooms. Itzel shared rooms with her two younger brothers while her mother slept in the livingroom and the oldest slept in the smaller bedroom. Karla was a single mother who immigrated from Mexico to the US when she was 15. At 16 she became pregnant with Luis and she wasn't able to finish high school or even think about college. At 18 she had another child with a different man who left shortly after he found she was pregnant. From that Itzel was born. At 18 Itzel's mother had to care for them and raise them alone. The only help her mother got was from some friends and her boss. Karla was able to afford a tiny apartment at the outskirts of the city. When Itzel was five her mother had twins with a man who promised to marry her. While that never happened he did leave her with enough money to care for the twins for a few years. Karla instead started a business that flourished much like her product. Itzel's mother was able to quit her dead end job and start a flower shop, one of the few in the city. 

Itzel and Luis helped around the shop and learned how to care for flowers and plants alike. They also learned to make arrangements, which Itzel loved to do! Slowly but surely their business grew and grew to what seemed like a dream. Happy with the success they had, Itzel's older brother began to pursue his musician career after attending SVU. He played ike local bars and clubs and formed a Mexican band that grew popular within the city and other parts of the country. Soon enough he was traveling around country to play in LA, Vegas, New York, Florida and got to go to Mexico and perform with his band. While Itzel missed her brother she was proud of him and his success. He was also able to send money their way to help renovate the shop and start a savings account. Itzel took another route and went to SUV to study business. Unfortunately she wasn't very book smart and she gave up after five years. Instead she dedicated herself to the shop to help her mother.

Due to the success of the flower shop Itzel's mother was able to buy a house under her eldest's name. Three bedrooms, one for her and the other two for her twin sons. Itzel on the other hand took this opportunity to move out to Redwood Apartments, a place she had been eyeing for a while. It was close to the shop and a short drive to her mother's new house so everything worked out. She did have to deal with a heartbroken Karla for a few weeks but her mother enjoyed the bigger space and kitchen in her new home. Besides, Luis would be back in a few weeks to visit them and stay for a month or two on a short break.

Her father recently contact her asking her if they could meet. Itzel doesn'ts know what to think or do. She is not sure if she wants to meet him.

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|| Family/NPCs ||

Karla  Sanchez Castillo(46) - Itzel's mother, a hard working and caring woman who will do anything for her children.
Luis Antonio Sanchez (28)- Itzel's older brother and lead singer and guitarist for Los de Plata
Alejandro Sanchez (21) - Itzel's younger brother, the oldest of the twins - SVU psychologist student and part-timer at the flower shop
Angel Sanchez (21) - Itzel's younger brother, the youngest of the twins - SVU  medical student and part-timer at the flower shop

|| Extra ||

- Itzel can play the accordion and the drums.
- She can dance and will out dance anyone. She dances everything. Except ballet.
- Not a singer and she don't care!
- Once broke her heels from dancing zapateado a little too hard.

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