i'm Mina-Mina, the one and only baddest female.

Here in Tallahassee, Florida, every single day is either rainy, humid as heck, or unbearably hot. There hasn't been a day where it was just normal. Everyday I check the weather channel before I head out and before I go to bed. The weather around here changes instantaneously, and most people always carry umbrellas or wear rainboots. The weather here causes me to always wear my hair in a bun or ponytail. My clothes are usually soaked with sweat by the time I get back to my dorm. The weather here is so strange. And one can always smell saltwater in the air (like a sort of briny, brackish smell), especially when the wind blows from the south.

Dorm living, or should I say, apartment dorm living is no problem for me. I have to share a bathroom, which I do not mind. My dorm is one of the nicest in the school, so I don't mind my bedroom either. And with a kitchen and living room, I have nothing to complain about. However, if I had a complaint, it would only be one. It's way too cold in the dorm, even when the thermostat is turned to 75 degrees. That's the only thing. So I'm always in a hoodie when in the dorm.

The cafeteria food is great. I can eat almost anything I want, and I've mostly been eating a high protein, high vegetable diet. Although, that endless pizza bar gets to me always. Once I had pizza five days in a row, haha. But it's all good. I can order a sandwich from the deli, or eat from the salad bar (couscous burgers! I saw them, but I haven't had any yet.), or eat from the grill or the "homestyle" cooking they have. I'm so so happy about the food choices. I don't want to gain the freshman 15 (you know, that story that people gain 15 pounds in their freshman year), because if I do, none of my clothes will fit me. Ha.

The amount of walking I do to go everywhere is nice; I get to stay active. There are a bunch of hills and the buses are unreliable, so it pays to walk. Luckily, I never buy shoes that don't fit well. My feet weren't used to so much walking when I came, so my feet hurt like hell the first few days. I had to massage them and rub them down with aloe to keep down the swelling.

Our school is very very "black." Haha, it's an HBCU, but still. There are "Fried Chicken Wednesdays" and the line backs up for yards in the cafeteria. On the tables, there's hot sauce. Cayenne pepper hot sauce. Cayenne pepper is hot stuff, guys. No one messes around with their spicy food and chicken wings here. Nuh-uh. No one. Every misconception about black people can be found here, sadly. Hot sauce, fried chicken, loud bass music, shady men (my roommates call them "goons," and rightly so), grills, people with brand-name shoes and hats and clothes, etc. I don't mind; this place is a social experiment in itself.

Already I'm an odd person- the only friends I've made are just people in classes (i.e. Tia in Architecture), my roommates (DJ and Martine), and then people I've met because of Tia, DJ, and Martine. I don't mind being by myself at all. I've yet to find people that can turn into aMaZiNG friends like the ones in high school. Actually, I hope I can meet new people at the SWIC (Student Women in Construction) meeting that I'm going to tonight. I was invited over Facebook, and then I saw the flyers all over the School of Architecture building afterwards. Needless to say, making friends is hard. Ugh.

I love love listening to music while walking around campus (or doing anything on campus in general). It's like I'm having my own personal party. I have to be careful not to break out in dance sometimes. The only thing I can do is walk around with a silly smile on my face (see: G-Dragon's new album, Heartbreaker- most especially the song featuring TaeYang called "Korean Dream" & the song featuring CL and Teddy called "The Leaders"). I love music so much.

I've continued writing fanfiction, but I haven't done any true story writing yet. I'm either too tired, have homework, or I was sick. I should have more time though, because things are slowing down with the freshman orientation things and I'm not sick anymore. And my body is getting used to waking up early, and I'm feeling less tired as time goes on. I have been thinking about my stories and such. =D I'm also thinking about doing something for the school's creative writing publication, Cake. (I haven't looked it up yet though.)

Unfortunately, some people are trying to repress my happiness about architecture. But I will not allow myself to forget the happiness I experience when I create something from my own hands. I try not to let people take my ability to make myself happy away from me. Simply because if I cannot make myself proud and happy, how can anyone else? I'll lose a part of me if people try to repress what makes me joyful. I love building materials, I love the smell of sawdust, I love crafting out of cardboard, I love looking at arches, I love looking at buildings for inspiration. I love granite and concrete and tile. I love brick and stucco and glass. I love paint and wood and paper. And I love the fact that out of all of those things, I can create a masterpiece.