What's in a Name?

Jacinta Ortiz

Jacinta Ortiz- Dominican ancestry; Mia's beloved English teacher, Ms. Ortiz is a very kindly woman with a fiery spirit whom is often found in a good mood, expressing passion for the subject she teaches and going great lengths to keep her students motivated in her course. She is known to have a warm, enthusiastic demeanor that usually lightens up the mood in her classroom. Generally level-headed and sympathetic to her students, she often chooses to advise them earnestly with firm guidance. She is openly bisexual and is currently in a committed marriage with her wife Keishnel Salazar, whom she has adopted a daughter named Willow with, as well as a son named Hunter. Ms. Ortiz was born in Connecticut but came from a tough, abusive upbringing in a low-income household in the Bronx, leading her to consider herself a self-made woman. She was often misunderstood as a child due to her unusual interests, such as her love of fantasy novels and comic books, which her mother openly disapproved of. She motivated herself to want to belong to and achieve something bigger than herself by using her love of English literature to teach and inspire a younger generation. A graduate of Barnard College, she is just and fair in terms of educating her pupils and grading their assignments and often encourages a form of tough love to push her students to maximize their potential in their work. Ms. Ortiz took Mia under her wing during her freshman year of high school, during which she was experiencing a difficult time of transition. She saw potential in her writing after noticing her exceptional skills when crafting a personal narrative that was assigned for each student. She enjoys students who are intellectually curious and bright and encourages a love of learning in the adolescents she teaches. 

She also has a fondness for dark humor and enjoys charming her students with her sarcasm and sharp wit, living by the motto that "you are who you think you are". Artsy, creative, and soulful, Ms. Ortiz is a fan of Rent and has formidable skills when it comes to poetry, with dreams of working as a writer in the city and being a playwright. She hopes to have one of her pieces be produced for Broadway and adores Mia, treating her like a daughter since she is unable to conceive children of her own due to fertility issues in the past. She was previously married to a man named Gage who taught philosophy at a university but divorced him due to differing passions and claims that "she wanted her own freedom". For a time, she had been content living life as a single, uncommitted woman who dated men fleetingly and was viewed as being very independent and self-sufficient. Ms. Ortiz dresses in rastafarian style clothing in her spare time and wears blue circle framed glasses, in addition to owning a variety of headbands. Her longtime best friend is a woman of mixed Mexican and Filipino ancestry named Itzel, whose husband Ignacio is of Mexican and African American descent. She is very close to Itzel first born son Earl, a young boy she endearingly calls "Gordito" who was born with cerebral palsy. She is also a strong advocate for supporting young people with similar conditions and regularly posts educational videos on YouTube encouraging others to be more accepting of those with disabilities. Ms. Ortiz previously received death threats as a teenager when posting fan art innocently "shipping" and pairing off different characters romantically from her favorite cartoon series'. She regularly contributed to several art-related sites, namely Tumblr,  and encountered a number of rabid fans who disapproved of her opinions and views. 

She struggled with binge-drinking as well throughout a period in her life during which she fell into a vicious pattern of self-loathing and self-victimization following a bad breakup that was only resolved once she received treatment. Her younger brother Hidalgo, who resides in Washington Heights is extremely protective of her and shows concern for her well-being due to her intense past, although she insists that is capable of taking care of herself on her own. A notable attribute of Ms. Ortiz is her optimism and zest for life, which many of her family and friends find contagious, as she is seldom seen without a smile on her face. She is very compassionate and understanding and tries to be receptive to those around her, causing her to be perceived as wise, as well as a good listener and confidant. She loves to travel and is very interested in visiting Lisbon, Portugal one day, as well as the city of Prague, which she considers to be truly magical. She also tends to have a goofy sense of humor at times and is seen as laidback and relaxed during her encounters, seeing the best in others and making the most of every moment. Ms. Ortiz loves to eat mangu with "los tres golpes", dulce de lechosa, morcilla, and casabe, although she also admits that she can never resist fast food either and regularly drives through McDonald's to order an ice cream Sundae and a Big Mac. She similarly has a special fondness for Jazz music and is a fan of various music artists, such as Norah Jones and Sarah McLachlan. She likes to do yoga in her spare time along with Keishnel and will sometimes plan a backyard picnic for the two of them after work if the weather is good enough. She still keeps a necklace with the initial of her first name that was given to her by her father before her passed away in a car accident when she was 6 years old. A New York native, Ms. Ortiz had never visited the Dominican Republic as a child, making her first trip to her parents' homeland when she was 16 years old. 

She vividly remembers the beautiful beaches in Punta Cana and plans to one day own property in a coastal city, where she would like to settle with her wife to raise her family. She likes surfing in the summer and considers herself the type of her person who naturally tans, by contrast to her brother who inherited a slightly fairer complexion. She enjoys picking out classic stories from her book club, such as Paddington and Where the Wild Things Are so that she can read them to her young children. As her polar opposite, Mrs. Ortiz's wife shares her brother's alternative fashion sense, with long hair that is a brunette balayage, brown eyes that appear gray when she wears contacts, high cheekbones, and a medium complexion, as well as a piercing on her lower lip. She works part-time as a model, but has a second job as a server at a local Thai restaurant to help pay for college debt as she pursues her master's in counseling at Fordham University. The two cohabit at an off-campus apartment with their children and two dogs, a German Shepherd named River and Chihuahua named Barbie, as well as a "big fat cat" named Cashew. She is deeply enamored by her, finding her "stunning" and describing her as having a resemblance to the actress Gina Rodriguez with her naturally jet-black hair and dark, sultry eyes. Ms. Ortiz admits that she sometimes has trouble looking before she leaps, although she always manages to somehow land on her feet. Regardless, she was shown to have a sense of responsibility that was surprisingly mature for someone her age, as she freely acknowledged that she was responsible for her own actions. It is indicated that many of her faults come from her not knowing how to express her negative emotions in healthy ways, to the point where she tries hiding them instead of being open about them. 

She is also clever, intuitive, and a quick thinker, capable of coming up with solutions to problems on the fly, but if she has too much on her mind, she can be oblivious to things, such as the principal's romantic feelings for her. Ms. Ortiz also likes to volunteer and help out in her community in her spare time, engaging in upcycling in order to benefit the environment in her own way. She has a rooftop garden that she tends to, watering her flowers regularly and planting a series of sunflowers in order to bring positive vibes to her home. Despite their past, she has since managed to forgive and reconcile with her mother, visiting her periodically at the nursing home and bringing her photo albums to help trigger her memories. She also seems to have a wide circle of friends and is seen as being extroverted, being a people person who likes to share quality conversation even with strangers. Mrs. Ortiz sometimes tends to utter small phrases in Spanish whenever she finds herself experiencing certain bouts of emotion. She is determined to be who she wants to be regardless of the opposition she receives, although her remarkably headstrong personality has landed her in trouble on a number of occasions. Despite this, she can be very intelligent, as well as surprisingly introspective when she allows herself the room to breathe. She has demonstrated a side to her that is exceptionally brave and heroic as well, risking her life on a number of occasions to protect others, especially those she loves. Another factor that weighs heavily on Ms. Ortiz mind is the loss of her father, whom she still continues to grieve for years after his passing. It has also been implied that much of her creativity, eccentricity, optimism, and vivid imagination are the final gifts her father gave her, which she uses as a means of coping with his loss. 

Her devotion to her loved ones serves as her greatest weakness, as she is constantly placing their burdens on her shoulders and blaming herself whenever she believes that her actions have hurt them. She becomes more self-possessed as she ages however and uses her past as a means of growth, inspiring her to engage on her endless quest to understand others and be understood. Ms. Ortiz personality begins to heal following a heart-to-heart talk with her mother, in which she apologized to her for attempting to change her into someone she wasn't and voiced her acceptance for who her truly is. She later develops a huge interest in researching human culture, becoming somewhat of an expert on it, even though her knowledge on humans is often inaccurate. This has led her to become very welcoming towards newcomers since she can easily understand and empathize with people in the same situation as herself. She is eventually promoted to the district board by in her early 40s, which allows her to supervise all the other English teachers. Ms. Ortiz has dark brown eyes and a curvy figure, along with having kinky-curly dark brown hair that she dyes a chocolate brown shade, although she formerly kept it short. She has a pecan-tan complexion and normally wears business casual attire while teaching at the school, in addition to having noticeably high cheekbones, slightly curved eyebrows, and a heart-shaped face that tapers to a pointed chin. Although previously straightening her hair as a young girl to better fit in with her less admixed, more Caucasian-looking counterparts, she now embraces and chooses to let her hair curl in its natural state. She leaves a meaningful message in Mia's yearbook shortly before she graduates from high school urging her to shoot for her dreams and embrace her unique talents. ENFP 4w3