My name is Maria Jasmin Alvarez Bacabac, but most people know me as Jasmin Bacabac. Maria is an Italian name. It means a 'sea of bitterness'. I was given this name because of my great-grandmother whose name was also Maria.

Jasmin is a Persian name. It means 'a flower in the olive family'. My parents named me this because a species of the Jasmine flower is the Philippines' national flower.

My parents always told me we had Spanish in our blood, but I never fully believed them. But I looked up my middle name, Alvarez, which is also my mother's maiden name, and discovered it originated from Spain. It is a patronymic surname meaning 'Son of Alvaro'. I was happy when I discovered this information.

It confirmed what my parents had always told me – I have Spanish in my blood.

I remember the first day of P1. The teacher made us stand in a horizontal line in front of small wooden lockers. Then she told us to find the lockers that had our names on it. As all the kids scrambled to find their lockers, I just stood there and searched for the name Jasmin.

I couldn't find it and I just stood there watching the other kids. If you had been there you might have wondered what I was doing. The teacher finally noticed me and brought me towards the locker. It had the name 'Maria' on it. My first thought was 'that isn't my name!'

Every time I remember this memory I wonder why I chose Jasmin instead of Maria. Since I have been in Middle School, some teachers have called me 'Maria'. I guess it's not a bad name, because it is part of who I am. I am Maria Jasmin Alvarez Bacabac and I am growing to like all of my names.