What’s it like to be 15 in the US? To find out this, Michel Martin spoke with three girls at Montgomery Blair High School.

Leslie Morales, whose parents are from El Salvador, explains the importance of a girl’s quinceañera—even though she decided to celebrate her 15th birthday with a trip to Disneyland instead. “The meaning of a quinceanera is to grow up. You’re becoming a woman. You’re responsible(负责的) for yourself. You’re going to start making more decisions for yourself. You start thinking about what you want to do with your future.”

Soraya Mohamud, whose parents are from Somalia, tells us about how grateful she is for her mother’s support. “In our culture and in our religion, 15 is a huge number. When I turn 15, I am a woman. I am now responsible for everything I do, not my parents.”

Tanjum Chowdhury moved to the U.S. from Bangladesh last year. She said: “In my family, when you’re 15, you start helping Mom. Before, it was my older sister who was responsible for helping Mom. But now my sister is shouting at me, like, ‘Oh, you need to help Mom because I’m out at work.’ So after school, I do my homework and I try to help my mom.”