Hey, everyone! As the summer comes to a close, I hope you all are as excited as I am to start school again! These last few weeks in Houston have been relaxing. I just have really, really focused on relaxing because I know that as soon as I’m back in class-mode, I will have very little time to. However, I am also super excited to start back up again! I want to feel productive and like I’ve accomplished something!

So I requested to start work at the Fluor Tower Customer Service Center a week or so before Move-In Day. I went to training on August 11th and I got approved for early move-in (woo-hoo!) so I got to move into my apartment at Cardinal n’ Gold early! They just remodeled the apartment so I have a super cool, modern-looking place! I went grocery shopping, which was a little scary and eye-opening. It was a big difference from when I lived in Fluor Tower and had Cafe 84 right downstairs, but now I have to cook and meal prep! I have to make sure I’m on budget and not spending too much on groceries. I want to make sure I have money to buy cute decor for my new place too! Cardinal n’ Gold is USC’s new project on sustainable USC housing. We are environmentally-friendly, so we have compost containers, less light fixtures, a ton of recycling containers, and even a little 5 minute hourglass for the shower to conserve water! I really like my new place and am excited to make it feel more like home as the semester goes on.

Cardinal n Gold Apartment Style

Cardinal n Gold Apartment Style

On my free time when I wasn’t working I would go out to eat at different restaurants and taco trucks. I found this amazingĀ taco truck called Leo’s Tacos on La Brea and Venice.Y’all should totally go check it out! It has great reviews on Google and Yelp. I also heard that the restaurant at LACMA was really good, so naturally, my boyfriend and I bought general admission tickets and tickets to the special Guillermo del Toro while we were at it. We actually stumbled upon this special exhibit by accident when we tried going to LACMA, but they were about to close. We decided to try again the following week. We were some of the first in line and it was great. Later, the line curled aaaaall the way around the building, and if you’ve seen or ever been to LACMA you know that this a lot of people. It felt great that we beat the crowd. I couldn’t wait until lunch time and when it came, I grubbed. The sweet potato fries were some of the best fries I’ve ever had (yes, they were even better than Umami’s, which is one of my absolute favorite places that y’all should still check out!). I had to order a side to go.

Scared at the Guillermo del Toro: At Home With Monsters Special Exhibit at LACMA

Scared at the Guillermo del Toro: At Home With Monsters Special Exhibit at LACMA

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Light Fixtures at LACMA

Although summer was great, I’m super excited to be back on campus and start classes. I was especially excited for the Welcome Back Concert that happened at McCarthy Quad. They brought out Mike Will Made It, you know, the guy that comes out in all the songs saying “Miiiike Will Maaaade It.” Then Jeremih and iLoveMakonnen also came out! It was super cool to see them because iLoveMakonnen was here for Conquest last year when we had our huge football game against UCLA and Jeremih was here for Springfest just the previous semester. I’m super pumped for the following concerts. I’m especially pumped for Conquest just because I love the rivalry-feel and the Trojan Spirit that it brings about. On a more academic note, I’m really pumped to start my first Building Science class! I’m excited to finally get to the hands-on, interactive, messy work of architecture! I’m looking forward to being on my own in an apartment where I have to cook and decorate and clean. I feel like it feels a lot more real world and it makes me feel like Beyonce, independent and fierce.

Let’s see what this year brings us (hopefully a lot of football victories!).

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2 Comments

  • Dina says:

    Hi Nayely!

    I am perspective viterbi student (fingers crossed)! I am not from h-town but lived there for a bit! I really enjoy your blog posts! I love that you’re so active in LA and at USC, can you tell me a little more about the social scene on campus? What are the main social groups on campus? Is there greek life? I am particularly interested in joining a sorority but I know that might be difficult to juggle with such a heavy major. What are your thoughts?

    • Betty says:

      Hey Dina!

      Sorry for the late response. Good luck with the admissions process! The social scene varies dramatically for what you are into. I personally am not in a social sorority, but I don’t think I’m missing out on having a social life. While greek life is a component of campus, it doesn’t dominate the social scene. From my friends in greek life, they are able to balance it pretty easily with their course load. It all just comes down to time management, but greek life tends to be something that you can fit in your schedule when you want it too. Personally, I’ve made a lot of incredible friends through my freshman year floor and the organizations I’m in like SHPE and ASCE! Read more about them on my page here: viterbivoices.usc.edu/nayely

      Thanks for the question!
      Nayely