Latina artist Miriam Ximil is the latest artist-in-residence at the Diamante Arts and Cultural Center in Raleigh

Latina artist Miriam Ximil has gone from doodles in her closet to becoming the latest artist-in-residence at the Diamante Arts and Cultural Center in Raleigh.

She is making her dreams come true, one painting at a time.

"Why am I here," Miriam said, "It's really important for people, or just like myself, to know where we came from."

She was born in Puebla, Mexico, but migrated to New York with her parents at a young age. When she was 13, she moved to Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina.

Growing up as a kid, she was in a goth, Hispanic skater phase, and she listened to nu metal which made her stand out in many ways.

"It was stigmatized to be wearing a different color hair and a trench coat, you know." she said.

Before she achieved her dream of being an artist, she was waitress, then a video game designer who didn't pick up the paint brush full time until the age of 36.

"My grandfather in Mexico passed away," she said "Something in the back of my mind was telling me ‘Hey you have a passion, you have a dream, you have stories to tell."

And that's where the story she’s working on now is personal.

Through her artwork, she expressed the stress of her parents' divorce, the struggle she endured as an undocumented immigrant, and being a DACA recipient.

While she paints her past, she hopes that she can lay a new groundwork for a new future where a goth Mexican skater kid from Fuquay-Varina or anywhere can see themselves, accept themselves, and think about where they’ve come from.

"I’m glad that more kids are like, hey, do you wanna paint your hair color blue? Do it. Do you want to skate? Do it" She said, "There’s…you define yourself, you know?"

Ximil's work will be on display at the Diamante Arts and Cultural Center at the end of this month.

A reception to open her exhibition will be on Sept. 29.