I suppose this introduction may be a bit overdue, but here I am.

The obvious first. My name is Justin and I'm an architecture major at Kent State University College of Architecture and Environment Design.

Now for supporting details. I'm currently in my third year, studying abroad in Florence, Italy - which is, in public opinion, the 'cradle of the renaissance.'  I have an acute case of being all over the place, which is likely what brought me here - both as an architecture student and more specifically, this blog.

Sometimes I think I have an inherent aversion to blogging in general, as blogs in general often tend to fit into a certain niche filled with truisms and a particular personality which I hope to avoid becoming to whoever decides to follow along with my posts.

This may be why I have stalled so long in putting together any sort of introduction for the blog, but hopefully my posting procrastination will not continue in the future. I intend to make a post a week, however brief, just to maintain, if not for anyone else, the mindset of an architecture student in Florence circa now. I've also been busy, but not with things that should pertain to an architecture blog, aside from the fact that deep down I'm almost certain that nearly everything does in fact pertain to architecture. Which is likely the reason I'm still so interested in what architecture can be, given the right circumstances, or the right mindset.

And I wanted to wait until I got a handle on my own concept for the upcoming project this semester. We are designing a 'Gastronomy Center,' which is more or less a fancy phrase for a restaurant and culinary school and some other things our professors deemed programmatically relevant given our site, located near the Sant'Ambrogio markets, practically adjacent to them in fact. But my concept will wait until another entry, as right now this is an introduction.

I enjoy thinking, but primarily in a disjointed manner, where I boil everything down to big concepts and sweeping generalizations one minute, and the next I'm off overanalyzing some detail, hoping it fits into my admittedly inexperienced worldview. When it doesn't [as is usually the case] I quickly invent an altogether new worldview for however long this one can go before I again disprove myself somehow. I'm stubborn, and in most cases, I'm the only one who can prove myself wrong. And even when others have pushed my argument and I against the wall, I concede only under the technicality that somehow I was the one that realized my mistake. It can be said that I possess the typical architect's ego. Hopefully by admitting this, I can avoid taking myself too seriously though. I don't believe in being serious. I'm not a businessman.

This might seem irrelevant, but as I said this is an introduction, and I only feel fair to add a disclaimer to my initial post on how I expect these blog entries will go. Otherwise, someone might get the wrong idea right from the start, and be disappointed or angry as internet audiences typically get when someone posts something they disagree with.

I think that maybe this is enough to get to know me. At least for now. I feel like this whole entry is way too formal, but I don't think starting from scratch would do me any good at the moment. Maybe as time goes on, I'll loosen up. After all, I don't know any you yet, and I always somehow end up making a strange first impression on even my closest friends.